Fivefold Veneration
by Big-Ragna
Summary: Middle-aged Ragna Greybeard, ex-warrior with a sordid past, yearns to retire to Vulkhel Guard. But Queen Ayrenne sends him back to the battlefield to join a group of elite fighters known as The Gathering Storm. Their task: complete a secret mission that will decide the outcome of the war in Cyrodiil. Fighting alongside these eccentric characters will change Ragna forever.
1. Deep Is The Cut

Chapter 1: **Deep Is The Cut**

The thick summer air hung heavy in the room. Ragna leaned against his workbench and sighed. He didn't have to examine his finger very closely to know the cut went straight to the bone. The white phalange stared back at him like an old lover. Luckily he hadn't hit an artery, but in all honesty…did he really care? Blood had gushed from his body many times in the arena and on the battlefield. He let his mind wander even deeper into that morose place it often visited. _Why not just bleed out and get it over with?_ His hand shaking, he set the carving knife aside and begrudgingly began stitching up the wound.

As he finished mending his finger, the shop door opened, and in stepped a High Elf in her early twenties, with a face of exceptional beauty. She looked to be every bit of seven feet tall as she stooped to prevent knocking her head against the timbered ceiling. She moved with caution, determined that her long, gangly legs would not get in the way of each other, and still, she almost tripped! Her large, jade colored eyes surveyed the modest crafting shop, before focusing on the middle-aged man leaning against the workbench. She couldn't help but notice the black war paint that circled each of his eyes. The dark ink of the tattoo made his ice-blue eyes look even brighter. She thought to herself, _Maybe Wyn was right. He really was a fighter, before he got so…decrepit looking!_ In a calm but high pitched voice she said, "Hail. Are you Ragna Greybeard?" Ragna tugged on the grey beard that covered his neck and nodded. She grinned, "Why…yes, of course. Muddle-headed me." It didn't take long for Ragna to feel uncomfortable in her presence. In the old days, he would have sought out her affection in any number of ways. But today, looking at her golden skin and flowing blonde hair, he just felt older and balder than ever, like an old stallion put out to pasture.

"My name's Aiz'lee," she said. "I have it on good authority, you're the best leather worker in Vulkhel Guard." He offered no reply, so she continued, "I'm in need of a new saddle for my Senche-tiger, and I'm willing-"

Ragna interrupted her, "Never made one for a big feline, but shouldn't be much different than a horse. I'll need some measurements."

Aiz'lee tilted her head to the side, as High Elves often do, "Fantabulous. My mount's right outside."

Before Aiz'lee could utter another word, Ragna started to whimper, grinding his jaw from side to side. He grabbed hold of the workbench hard, as if he was preparing for gale force winds. The High Elves' jaw fell open as tears started to stream down the man's face. She tilted her head yet again, "I'm sorry Sir…are you alright?" Without a word, Ragna turned, shielding his face, and trudged out the backdoor.

Peering through an open shop window, Aiz'lee watched him retreat to a woodshed where he fell to his knees, and burst into a full-fledged sob. She mumbled, "Divines protect us," then raised her voice, "I'm staying at the Salted Wings Tavern if you need me!" and with that, she departed.

Ragna stayed by the woodshed and cried for a good five or six minutes. He knew it was best to let it run its course, otherwise it would drag on forever. Unfortunately, these crying fits seemed to come at the least opportune times. The last time it happened, he was in the middle of pummeling a foul-mouthed Orc at the Drunken Duck Pub. He had no idea what these fits were about, or what triggered them, and that worried him. He always prided himself on the fact that the last time he shed a tear…he was a milk drinking pup. But that wasn't the case now, not since two moons ago. That was also about the time he started hearing the voices. He shook his head, _Finally…losing my mind. Or maybe it's a sign?_ He picked himself up off the ground as thunder broke in the distance and clouds darker than obsidian started rolling in. _Looks like a big rain coming_.

Little did he know the rain was going to last for weeks.

* * *

A month later, and the driving rain still fell from the night sky. Inside the Salted Wings Tavern, barrels collected rain water as it dripped through the shingled roof, creating a cacophony of plops and splashes. Aiz'lee sat at one of the dryer, corner tables, glumly sipping a glass of wine, while her companion, a diminutive Wood Elf named Tealeaf, ordered another Iron-Bog Ale. Tealeaf's full lips, tiny chin and angular eyebrows gave her an attractive appearance. And typical for her race, all parts of her eyes were dark, making her look like she was part deer. The two females sat quietly watching the other patrons laugh and mingle about…until Aiz'lee finally spoke up. "I'm sick of all this precipitation. It's been twenty-eight days straight for Divine's sake!"

Tealeaf loosened the straps on her open-toed boots and quipped, "That's a record, Kid. And I'm not talking about the damn rain, I mean _you_ not talking. What was that…a whole five minutes of silence?"

Aiz'lee grimaced. "I'm serious. If it rains any more, this whole town is going to float away. The villagers at the lower elevations have already been flooded out and there's no ward or incantation that will make it stop. Believe me, I've tried. I even talked to Master Telleno at the Mage's Guild." Tealeaf's only response was a dour look before rolling her eyes.

As soon as a young Khajiit boy delivered the fresh ale to their table, Tealeaf tilted the heavy mug back for a long, healthy swig. The boy stood there gawking at the round welts that covered her taut, muscular arms. "What's that on your arms? I hope you don't mind me asking."

Tealeaf slammed the mug back on the table and frowned, "You are an inquisitive bugger, hey?" The boy shrugged, so she continued, "Where I come from, these represent tribal achievements, and so far I've got thirty-two of them." Growing impatient, she pointed at one of the scars, "And you know what this one's for?" The boy's eyes grew large. "Killing a hundred Khajiit!" she yelled, prompting the boy to run off like his tail was on fire.

The two females chuckled as they hoisted their drinks for a toast. Aiz'lee said, "Nicely done. You didn't really kill a hundred Khajiit…did you?"

Tealeaf looked disappointed, "Don't you remember? My husband is Khajiit."

Aiz'lee scratched her head. "Oh sure," she replied and giggled, "Muddle-headed me."

A woman, her identity concealed by a long, hooded robe entered the tavern and with a few quick flicks of her right arm, shook the water off her silver and black garments. Even in the dimly lit tavern, her robe appeared slightly luminous, as if the metallic threads were gently pulsing with light. The woman curtsied to an old man, then proceeded directly towards Aiz'lee and Tealeaf's table and sat down. Tealeaf whispered. "Wyn! What in blue blazes took you so long?"

The woman made sure her over-sized hood was still covering her face before speaking. "I ran into Imperial bounty-hunters on the Phaer River Road, and even in the rain, it took a while to lose them." Like a knee-jerk reaction, Tealeaf's hand automatically tightened around the dagger that hung from her belt. Knowing that Tealeaf was prone to over reacting, Wyn immediately placed a hand on her friend's forearm. "No worries Sister. I left them far behind, at least for now." Wyn then turned her attention to Aiz'lee. "And what's the verdict on Ragna Greybeard? Do you think he's reliable?"

Aiz'lee leaned forward, "Absolutely not. Not in this era or the next. He's suffering from all kinds of ailments, he's emotionally out of control, and he looks…well, he looks as old as the Velothi Mountains."

Wyn sneered. "Careful now Sister, I'm not far from his age." Tealeaf joined in, "I have to agree with Aiz'lee. We can't trust someone who bawls like a baby."

Wyn's eyes narrowed into thin slits. "I understand your reluctance. But my visions have never failed me, Ladies. He possesses something we cannot do without if we are to be successful in this venture. Unfortunately, what that something is, I'm just not sure of, yet." Pensive, Wyn gently rubbed her left hand which appeared to hang limply by her side. "And how did your new saddle turn out?"

Aiz'lee looked conflicted. "I have to admit, the saddle's perfect. Outstanding workmanship really."

Wyn took a deep breath, "Very good. Then please set up a meeting so we can discuss the mission at length with him. We can meet here or at his shop."

Aiz'lee shook her head vehemently, "There's no way he's going to do that."

Wyn continued, "Alright. So be it. You have connections, speak with the Queen. He cannot refuse an audience with her."Aiz'lee smiled ear-to-ear, happy that she would have a reason to speak with the Queen. "Fantabulous."

As the trio continued talking, a hulking, one-eyed Orc mercenary, and five of his cronies approached their table. Reeking of alcohol, the leader wiped snot from his nose ring before speaking. "Praise my lucky war hammer. Three lively wenches, ripe for the picking." The color in Tealeaf's cheeks went from coral to dark red in about a second.

Aiz'lee immediately stood up, "Greetings and salutations. I'm from House Fairwen, a personal envoy of Queen Ayrenne. And if you must know, my preference is for ladies not men, so nothing personal to you or your compatriots, Sir." Wyn added, "In other words, thanks Brother, but we're not interested."

The Orcs shook with laughter, as they circled even tighter around the women. The Orc leader spat. "We don't give a skeever's arse what _you_ like, or who your daddy is. We do as we please. Got it?" He reached down and grabbed Wyn's left arm like he was going to sling her over his shoulder, but the appendage just flopped about like it was barely attached to her body.

Wyn closed her eyes and in an instant her robe glowed white, searing a layer of skin right off Nose-ring's hand. "Yeeow!" he screamed. "You're gonna pay for that, bit-!"

Before Nose-ring could finish speaking, Tealeaf had transformed herself into a full-blown, black-as-night, werewolf. She howled as she lunged at the Orc, wrapping her claws around his stout neck and catapulting him clear across the room. The tavern erupted with patrons screaming and diving for cover. "Kura-Meip!" yelled Aiz'lee as she thrust her lighting staff overhead. The room shook as thick strands of electricity flew forth, landing on three of the Orcs, knocking them down in their tracks.

Wyn inconspicuously drew her own staff out, a long piece of twisted nightwood that held an opalescent gemstone in one end. She slammed the rod to the floor, casting an ethereal rune of protection over the entire room. That would prevent any of the Orcs from suffering complete defeat, i.e. death. She knew the last thing they needed to do was to eliminate any of the Dominion's forces, even if they were barbaric soldiers of fortune, such as these.

The fight barely lasted thirty seconds. But it was long enough to turn all of the Orcs into an pile of unconscious green flesh on the floor. Still enraged and foaming at the mouth, Tealeaf leapt out the nearest window, and disappeared into the wet night, a distant howl her only communication. Inside the tavern, as the smoke cleared and the smell of charred flesh started to dissipate, Wyn and Aiz'lee set the tables and chairs back in their proper places.

Looking around at the spooked patrons and staff, Wyn grew worried. She raised her right arm high into the air. "Uhm, excuse me dear citizens! We are sorry for the distraction. And therefore…the drinks are on us!" That seemed to placate everyone, as they stampeded towards the bar, trampling right over top of the unconscious Orcs on the floor.

* * *

The rain slowed to a steady drizzle as Ragna stood with his hands on his hips in the middle of his garden. The ground looked more like a swamp than anything else. He reached down, sticking his hand deep into the mud until he could find the tender leaves of the mandrake plant and pull it out of the ground. He inspected the young plant closely and to his dismay found the roots shriveled, black and…rotten. "Fivefold curses upon you, rain," he said.

"No, the curse is on us," came the voice from behind him. Startled, he turned around to see that it was the attractive High Elf who bought the new saddle. Aiz'lee continued, "Hail. That looks like mandrake, yes?"

Ragna stared at her with a blank expression, clearly in no mood to talk.

Aiz'lee continued, "Well, it's extremely rare and a narcotic."

Ragna flexed his jaw. "That's right, it's also a reagent used in herbal remedies, as if it were any business of yours." He then tossed the plant to the ground and said, "Look. I have a no-return policy on all my saddles. The sign is right on the counter. If you don't like it…too bad."

Aiz'lee was starting to lose her patience. "No, that's not why I'm here." She abruptly handed him a small envelope and said, "A request from Her Majesty, Queen Ayrenne. I assume you can read?"

Ragna shot her a scorching look before breaking the wax seal on the envelope.

Aiz'lee bowed stiffly, then turned to leave. "Best of luck," she said, even though she didn't really mean it.


	2. Nocturnal Tumescence

Ragna awoke flat on his back, lying spread-eagle across his workbench. He usually slept on the floor because it provided the best relief for his lower back, but with all the rain, the ground was too wet for that. Still groggy, he lifted his head up just enough to notice the large bulge in his pants. "Fires of Oblivion," he mumbled. He closed his eyes, hoping his erection would go away.

His sexual urge was nowhere near as strong or reckless as it was in his youth. Back then the rise of the "mighty oak" was a daily occurrence, to be celebrated and enjoyed. But even now the desire to mate had not left him completely. And for what purpose did that serve? He'd sworn off women, the strange and bewildering creatures that they were, long ago. Yes, he was lonesome at times, but the thought of sex always reminded him of his days with the Hollow Moon Clan and their skooma addled orgies. They were nightmarish memories, and he had no desire to revisit them. Taking another peek at himself, he could see that the oak wasn't going away anytime soon…unless he took action. He declared in a defiant voice, "Enjoy your little joke, Divines, while it lasts!" He tugged hard on his beard. _A quick plunge in the cold, mountain-fed spring out back, that will turn the mighty oak into a swinging vine…_

* * *

If nothing else, Ragna made sure to fill his life with routine. He was a creature of habit, and it was what kept him half-way sane and disciplined. Whether he felt like it or not, he kept to the following schedule every day: After dressing, he sharpened each of his swords. He ran his wet stone over each edge exactly one hundred times. Then he practiced his one and two-handed sword fighting until he could no longer raise either weapon overhead. Even though he was no longer a professional fighter, it was good exercise and it kept him strong and limber. Next came breakfast and it was also the same every day: Two-zephyr tea, goreapple porridge, buttered flatbread and Lillandril summer sausage. In the arena, they called it "the slayer's banquet." (The only thing they forgot to mention was that this particular combination of food tended to give most fighters a good dose of gas and Ragna was no exception)!

After breakfast, Ragna walked along the sandy coast line which led to the Abecean Stables in Vulkhel Guard. It was a good twenty minute walk in the rain, but getting wet didn't bother him. It was a warm day and it gave him time to collect his thoughts. _Why would the Queen request a meeting with him, when she could just as easily relay the information by courier?_ _And why was she in Elden Root of all places?_ He didn't really want to make the trip to the capital. It would require a long boat ride to the mainland, then a two to three day ride by horse, and it would be treacherous, particularly with the heavy rain. But he also hadn't forgotten that he owed the Queen. She pardoned him for his part in the Mannimarco fiasco and even helped him purchase the land for his leather and woodworking shop. He tugged on his beard in dismay. "Fivefold irritation!" He decided he would make the trip, but "respectfully decline" being of any further service to Her Majesty. He felt like he'd already done more than his fair share of the fighting.

Arriving at the stables, Ragna went to the far end of the long building, to a stall that was much larger than all the rest. The placard on the door simply read: "Keep Out or Suffer." It was the only door secured with a thick chain of aetherium and a dwemer orbital lock. Even though there was no sound coming from inside the stall, faint wisps of smoke intermittently pushed through the cracks in the wood, letting you know that something was indeed inside.

Ragna pressed his face against the tiny stall window and peered into the darkness. He blew some of his breath into the stall so the animal would recognize his scent. "Hail blood brother." With those words, the black stallion known as Blood Meridian whinnied, sending small flames flickering out of its nostrils and its blood-red eyes. Even a casual observer could tell, this was not your average warhorse. It was neither dead or alive, but existed in a state somewhere in-between. Ragna had rescued it from the demented hands of the daedric prince, Mehrunes Dagon, while fighting in the deadlands of Oblivion. Bred on the Black Isles, lava coursed through the animal's veins, illuminating the hairline cracks in its hooves.

Saddling up his mount not only invigorated Ragna, but the black stallion as well. The horse flexed its great neck and repeatedly stomped the ground. Ragna smiled as he rubbed the horse's broad chest, right where Blood liked it. Climbing up into the saddle, Ragna felt unexpectedly…excited.

With a tap of Ragna's heels, Blood Meridian cantered down the mud soaked bridle path, until it reached the main thoroughfare, the Phaer River Road. Ragna grinned as he watched the intermittent raindrops turn to steam the minute they landed on his horse. He eased off the reins and shouted, "Like the wind!" And the horse burst into a full gallop, kicking long tails of mud and water out from underneath it.


	3. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

Because of the need for secrecy, Aiz'lee, Tealeaf, Wyn and their personal mounts traveled to the mainland via a private, square-rigged ketch which ran undercover operations for Her Majesty. Landing on the lush, western coast of Greenshade, the ladies donned their rain gear and made haste through the wet jungle, which was thick with towering mangrove trees.

After a few soggy hours in the saddle, they reached the half-way point of their trip: the long stone bridge that would take them across the Naril Nagaia waterway. Tealeaf climbed down from her chestnut charger, and handed the animal's reins to Wyn. "You two go on across. I'll climb down into the gully, cross the river on foot and meet you on the other side."

Aiz'lee wiped the rainwater from her eyes. "What? That will take forever and I'm getting wetter by the minute. Just take the bridge with us!" Tealeaf ignored Aiz'lee and proceeded down the steep and slippery cliff.

Flabbergasted, Aiz'lee turned to Wyn. "What's wrong with her?"

Once Tealeaf was out of earshot, Wyn said, "She suffers from Gephyrophobia, always has."

Aiz'lee's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Her? Tough as malachite, werewolf-warrior…afraid of bridges?" Aiz'lee giggled as she prodded her senche-tiger over the bridge.

Wyn frowned, "I wouldn't say anything to her about it, if I were you. Besides, we're all afraid of something."

"Not me," Aiz'lee said with a shrug. "How about you?"

Wyn smirked. "I have Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, the fear of long words."

Aiz'lee scratched her head, unsure if Wyn was telling the truth or trying to be funny. "Oh…I see?" she said, "I didn't know such a thing exists." Wyn just smiled softly.

By nightfall the trio had finally reached their destination: the village of Bramblebreach, Tealeaf's hometown. It was a fair-sized village, consisting of a beautiful grove of bramble trees. These trees were unique, and extremely rare, even in Greenshade. Their trunks were wide, round and hollow, and the trees looked a lot like a gourd or pumpkin with a tree sticking out of the top. Most importantly, brambles were spacious and dry, and perfect for turning into homes and places of business.

Stepping inside Tealeaf's treehouse was an experience unto itself. It took close to an hour for Tealeaf's ten children (ages three to fifteen), and her twelve brothers and sisters, not to mention her parents and grandparents, to greet her…all while Wyn & Aiz'lee stood there dripping wet. Then Tealeaf lined up her children, all of them mirror images of herself, and with her dark eyes fluttering, proudly introduced each one to Wyn and Aiz'lee. "Alright, left to right…there's Greenleaf, Brownleaf, Dryleaf, Spikedleaf, Thinleaf, Wetleaf, Bigleaf, Roundleaf, Strongleaf and Grumpy." With that, her children charged into their mother, knocking her to the ground for yet another round of hugs and kisses.

Aiz'lee shrugged. "Charming. I hope you don't expect us to remember everyone's name?" Tealeaf barely managed a "No," since she was caught in the middle of a tickling/wrestling match.

Aiz'lee nudged Wyn. "Quite a picture of familial bliss, huh?"

Wyn replied, "Most certainly. Family is something many of us take for granted." Her voice had a twinge of sadness in it as she thought about her own parents who were dead and her one wayward sister. Wyn rubbed her paralyzed arm and continued, "But it's not all rosy, even for Tea. Her first husband died at the hands of the Veiled Heritance. And now her second husband, Eats-No-Skeever is imprisoned in the Imperial City. She just can't seem to get a break."

Aiz'lee was genuinely touched. "I'm sorry to hear that, Wyn. I really am." Aiz'lee marveled at the large pile of children on the floor. "And how in the world did she find time to develop fighting skills with all the, you know…procreating that went on?"

Wyn chuckled. "The gestation period for Wood Elves is incredibly short, and most of her fighting experience, she gained right here, supervising the Bramblebreach security forces."

About that time, someone offered to take the ladies' rain gear and gave them some dry blankets to wrap up in. Later on they were treated to a feast of grilled chicken, roast venison, flank steak and pan fried trout, (Wyn made sure to explain to Aiz'lee that no vegetables would be served). "Revering all forms of vegetation, they only eat beastfolk," she said. Finally dry and with full bellies, Wyn and Aiz'lee found a quiet corner of the treehouse and went to sleep while Tealeaf spent most of the night catching up with her large family.

* * *

The three-masted galleon rose and dipped as it cut through the dark, choppy seas. Without any stars for illumination, the ocean and sky seemed to merge into one gigantic mass of inky black. Meanwhile, below deck, both man and beast held on for dear life.

" **Big-bear is back, bawled the baby beetle!** " came the shout. The voice sounded frail, like it belonged to a very old, even ancient, man.

Ragna sat up from his blanket on the floor. "Who's there?!" The room was pitch black, since the captain had ordered all lanterns and candles be extinguished due to the rough seas. Ragna waited in silence for a response, but the only sounds he heard were the waves crashing against the upper deck of the ship and the creaking of the wooden hull. "Fivefold irritation," he said. He stumbled around until he was able to locate his welwa-oil candle and lit it.

" **Big-bear is back, bawled the baby beetle!** " came the voice a second time.

The hair on Ragna's neck stood straight up and a chill went down his spine. The voice sounded vaguely familiar. But he was certain that there was no one else in his tiny quarters. _Maybe there's a stow-away?_ Even with the boat rocking back and forth, he began opening the various chests and closet drawers to make sure no one was hiding inside them. The only thing of interest he found was a half-empty bottle of Mermaid Whiskey, which probably belonged to one of the sailors. He picked it up and studied the contents closely. _It ain't skooma…and I've only got a little mandrake left. So what would a tiny sip hurt? Would probably calm my nerves…_ He thought back to the last time he went through skooma withdrawals. He could feel his skin crawling all over again. It just made you want to die. Without another thought, he smashed the whiskey bottle against the floor, letting the alcohol drain down through the cracks in the floor.

Sweaty and trembling, Ragna opened a small leather pouch that hung from his neck and popped a piece of mandrake root into his mouth. In small doses, it was the only thing that would satiate his craving for skooma. Then he sat back down on the floor. That's when he noticed the praying mantis perched atop his haversack which he was using as a pillow.

"How'd you get in here?" said Ragna.

The bug was larger than your average mantis and had unusual red spots on its legs. It remained stationary, unmoving. Ragna gently lifted the bug off his pack and placed it on a tall chest. "If you're still here in the morning, I'll take you ashore. There's no leafy stuff in here, you'll die for sure." With that, he blew out his candle and tried to go to sleep.

The next morning, the praying mantis was nowhere to be found.


	4. Primordial Ooze

The rain fell in torrents, pushing the big, leafy jungle plants down towards the ground. Blood Meridian slogged back and forth across the muddy road, rider-less, while Ragna kneeled under a canopy of leaves the size of mammoth ears, and cried. The horse had never witnessed such behavior from his master, and it was upsetting the animal. Ragna's crying was so severe, the sobs echoed into the distant mountains.

Once the crying fit ended, Ragna rose to his feet feeling more than a little light headed. He glared at the black stallion. "Relax, you! You ought to be listening for mud slides." Truth be told, he was more concerned about his own lack of emotional control than he was worried about his horse, but he had to vent his frustration somehow. Cursing, Ragna climbed back atop Blood Meridian. It wasn't until he was in the saddle that he noticed the humungous Ogre accompanied by four men that were standing in the road ahead of him. All of the men wore full, ivory colored helmets, concealing their identities.

Ragna inhaled sharply. _Where in Oblivion did they come from?_ His horse immediately reared up, snorting fire into the wet air. With the heavy rain Ragna couldn't see any tell-tale insignia on the warriors, but he did notice that the smallest man had two armored war dogs by his side. The dogs were black, short haired and looked like Shornhelm Shepherds[i]. Ragna reined Blood in tight and shouted, "Hail. Make way, we mean no harm to you or your animals."

The gang erupted in laughter. In between chuckles, the Ogre howled, "Cry us some big, salty tears, Old One! I'm going to eat you and your ugly horse alive!"

Ragna's jaw stiffened. "Who you calling ugly, Fat Boy? Have you looked in a mirror lately?" The Ogre roared, and black ooze dripped from its mouth. Ragna dug his heels into Blood's sides and the horse charged forward, but the mud reduced the horse's speed to a clumsy trot. Realizing it would take several seconds before they reached their foes, Ragna pulled out two daggers which he kept coated with a mixture of nightshade and deathbell. (If the cut didn't get you, the fast-acting poison would course through your blood stream, and paralyze you with severe pain).

Ragna flung the first dagger in a short arc, sending it flying towards the Ogre's chest. The Ogre reacted quickly, jerking sideways, but the blade still managed to carve a nasty gash across the creature's arm. The second dagger missed its mark completely, bouncing off of one of the men's armored chest plates. By then the black stallion had slammed into the Ogre, sending both creatures crashing backwards and Ragna airborne. Out of the corner of his eye, Ragna could see the Ogre and dogs wrestling with his horse. But he had no time to aid Blood Meridian because as soon as he hit the ground, the four warriors attacked him.

The ground was so slick everyone had to move slowly, or suffer the indignity of falling flat on their kesters, which happened to several of the men more than once! That gave Ragna enough time to unsheathe his thirty-inch dragonbone sword, and move into a defensive stance. He tossed the light weight sword from hand to hand and shouted, "Today is a good day to die!" It became obvious that these men were amateurs by their sloppy sword play and their lack of any organized attack. Ragna let his instinct take over as he whirled his sword from side to side like a baton. It was the perfect technique for keeping a large number of enemies at bay. As soon as he saw one of them lower their sword, Ragna quickly slashed across the narrow, unprotected area of the man's neck. It was a mortal blow, and the man dropped to the ground with blood spraying everywhere. Next Ragna pivoted around to protect his back, but it was too late…all he saw was the mace as it flashed across his face, breaking his nose.

Ragna lay on his back, dazed and mired in the muck as the men closed in around him. The only thing that kept him from blacking out completely was the falling rain, which made his busted nose pulse with pain. In the background he could hear the sound of the hideous Ogre shrieking. Ragna smiled, _Poison must have taken hold_. Meanwhile, one of the men laid an axe across Ragna's neck and said, "Death to traitors!" But before the man could swing his axe, the earth shook. A massive crashing sound drew everyone's attention up to the far end of the road where a tidal wave of mud and fallen trees was rushing towards them. "Run!" someone yelled. The river of mud picked up everything that wasn't deep rooted, and swept it into a gully several hundred yards below the road. That's where the mud slide came to a grinding halt as it crashed into a pumice rock face. Acting like a dam, the massive pumice boulders held everything in place, except for the water, which continued to seep through and around the porous rock.

* * *

When Ragna opened his eyes about an hour later, the sun was shining and the sky was a cloudless blue. Even the sounds of chirping birds had returned. It had stopped raining! And just as importantly, the water from the mud slide had completely run off, leaving only several inches of thick, gooey mud behind.

 _How long have I been lying here?_ he wondered. He sat up and pushed the mangled corpse of one of the war dogs off of his legs. From where he sat, he could see the bodies of several of his attackers strewn about, and they all looked well on their way to the halls of Oblivion. Examining his own torso, he found everything working and intact, but he ached all over, and his head hurt the worst. He reached up and gingerly touched his broken nose. The sun had turned the thick mud and blood that covered his face into a hard crust. Then he grabbed hold of his right ear, or what was left of it. Apparently two thirds of it had been ripped off somehow.

It wasn't until he heard Blood Meridian's distant whinny that Ragna wondered how the animal had faired. He smiled and shook his head. _How many times can the undead die?_ Ragna pulled himself to his feet, and started circumventing the tangle of fallen trees in the hopes of locating his horse.

* * *

The wounded shepherd dog growled as it stood between its semi-conscious master, who was pinned under a fallen tree, and Blood Meridian. Reaching the shepherd first, Ragna tossed a piece of dried meat to the dog, but the animal ignored it. Trying a different strategy, Ragna slowly walked over to Blood Meridian. The horse looked exhausted, but had only suffered minor nicks and bruises. Ragna rubbed the horse's chest and spoke in a low voice. "Stand down." The horse bobbed its head back and forth, clearly not happy with that directive. Losing his patience, Ragna raised his voice, "Now, Blood!" and the horse finally backed away from the dog. But even that sign of a truce failed to calm the dog down. Figuring the only option left was to fight, Ragna drew his sword which prompted the dog's master to raise his hand, and in a soft voice say, "Heel." The animal obediently limped back to his master's side. Next the man said something unexpected…"Please help us."

Ragna tugged on his beard. _First the joker wants to slay me, then he asks for help?_ Curious about the identity of his attacker, Ragna re-sheathed his sword, (making sure to do so in plain view of the dog), and slowly moved close enough to the man to remove his helm. To Ragna's surprise, it wasn't a man at all, but a very young boy. And he was in tremendous pain.

Ragna remarked, "You're just a lad. A big lad, but a lad none the less."

The boy appeared offended. "I can fight better than most men."

"Humph. Well…men don't ask for help, Boy. How old are you?"

"Thirteen cycles."

Ragna spit in disgust. Taking a closer look at the boy, Ragna could see that the fallen tree had crushed both of his legs and one of the tree limbs had gored him through the chest. All things considered, the boy would not survive. Ragna sighed. "And you look to be Breton. Am I right?"

The boy winced. "Aye. Just like you." Then he let loose a painful scream.

Ragna reached into the leather pouch that hung from his neck and pulled out the last two pieces of mandrake root. "Here. Chew on this. It will dull the pain." He placed one of the roots inside the boy's lips. The other piece he ground into bits using the hilt of his sword and sprinkled it over the boys open wounds. "And why are you here, so far from home? Is there a bounty on me, or was your gang preying on travelers in general?"

"I could ask the same of you, Sir. Why are you here in the Aldmeri Dominion, the land of our enemies?" Finally the boy smiled as the mandrake started to take effect.

Ragna sat down and waited until the boy closed his eyes one last time. He couldn't help but focus on the smile that remained fixed on the boy's face. _These days smiles are hard to come by._

* * *

[i] Daggerfall Covenant Breed. Windhelm Wolfhounds are from Ebonheart Pact.


	5. Big-Bear Is Back

Most first time visitors to the gargantuan graht-oak in Elden Root were left speechless, even dumbstruck with awe. This was largely due to the sheer massiveness of the tree. It was the largest graht-oak ever recorded, measuring five hundred feet in diameter and over a thousand feet tall. And with the first several hundred feet of the tree being hollow, it housed all of the important institutions of the capital city, including the Fighter's Guild, the Mage's Guild, the National Bank, countless shops, and the Court of King Camoran Aeradan himself, King of Valenwood.

Today the King's Throne Room was buzzing with activity as nearly three hundred legislators and business leaders from all parts of the Dominion were discussing the ongoing war effort in the Imperial City. Despite the recent losses in battle, most people were in a good mood, if for no other reason than it had finally stopped raining. Some even suggested that the appearance of the sun was a sign that the tide in the war was about to turn for the better. But neither King Aeradan or Queen Ayrenne (ruler of the Somerset Isles), appeared to share in everyone else's cheer. The King, a wood elf with a waifish build and thick, black beard, leaned against his throne, annoyed. "Should I send a search party to find this delinquent? I have a mind to draw-and-quarter him, then behead him on the spot."

Sitting to the right of the King, in the customary seat of honor, Queen Ayrenne frowned. Being a High Elf, she was the complete opposite of the King…tall, golden-skinned, blond hair and blue eyes. She replied, "Maybe the foul weather delayed him. I recommend that we move on to other business."

Before the King could reply, the large crowd that had gathered in the throne room, split into two sections in order to make way for someone entering the back of the room on horseback. It was Ragna! He'd gone straight from the mud slide to the King's Court and he looked dreadful. He was covered in dried blood and mud and his twisted nose was already turning a plum color. He scanned the room's massive, hundred foot high ceiling, and then glared at the nattily dressed crowd. _Pompous harpies and schemers_. As he stepped down from Blood Meridian, a security guard shouted, "You there! Neither beasts or vagabonds are allowed in the King's Court!"

With his head still pounding, Ragna was in no mood for diplomacy. He bellowed, "You can throw the King and his rules in a pile of dung, for all I care! I'm here to see Queen Ayrenne, and I'm late to boot." A general hush fell over the room as a squad of guards descended on Ragna, their weapons drawn.

Luckily, one of the King's top aides, Vicereeve Pelidil shouted, "By order of the King, let the man pass!" Ragna gave all of the guards a great, wide smile, as he walked by, (even though it hurt his nose to do so). He then proceeded down the long aisle towards the throne, with Blood Meridian and the dead-lad's war dog limping behind him.

It wasn't until he reached the King and Queen that Ragna noticed the long trail of mud he left behind him on the green and gold carpet. He bowed down as far as his aching back would allow, and said, "Hail, O'You…Mighty Majestic Ones. I'm sorry for the mess. And for being so tardy."

The King turned to the Queen, "Surely, this is not the fellow?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so, King Aeradan."

The King replied, "Divines, grant us assistance. Let's adjourn to my chambers where we can talk in private."

* * *

The King's chamber room was elegantly furnished and devoid of windows to insure privacy. At one end of the room, the King and Queen sat behind a long, narrow desk made of mahogany, while off to one side sat Wyn, Tealeaf and Aiz'lee, in kagouti leather chairs. Ragna, Blood Meridian and the dead-lad's dog stood at the other end of the room. There were no guards or anyone else in the room.

Upon closer examination, Ragna recognized one of the females as the pretty High Elf who had recently bought a saddle from him. Nervous, he began to twirl the end of his beard with one of his fingers. _What's she doing here_? He nodded at the young High Elf, but she ignored him. _Pretty, but full of herself nonetheless._ The other two females, a wood elf and a woman whose face was concealed by a hooded robe, he didn't recognize.

Starting to feel claustrophobic, Ragna took a step backwards, only to bump into his horse and the dead-lad's dog. He cleared his throat and said, "Sorry about the beasts, but they go where I go. Actually, the dog isn't even mine…belonged to some poor lad. I tried to get rid of the mongrel, but she keeps following me. That's why-"

The King raised his hand. "Enough! What we are about to discuss is highly classified, and any mention of it to anyone outside this room is punishable by death. Therefore, as long as your animals make no mention of what is said here, they will be fine."

Ragna wasn't sure if the King was joking or not. "No, Your Majestic One. These animals cannot speak, at least not in a language understood by humans, wood elves, khajiit or-"

Again, the King interrupted him. "Fine! Fine. Let's get on with it. The odor in here is stifling. When was the last time you bathed, Sir? Ragna opened his mouth to speak, but the King continued. "Never mind! I don't really want to know. Make sure you speak with Prince Naemon once we are done here, he will make sure your wounds are tended to, and you receive a proper bath." The King then turned to the Queen, "Please proceed Your Highness."

Queen Ayrenne smiled. "It's good to see you again, my old friend. Although I'm sad to say, you appear very much the worse for wear. But let me cut to the chase. As you know we have suffered many loses in our fight for the Imperial City. The reason for this is simple. The Ebonheart Pact has learned how to break our encryption codes. Hence, every time they intercept one of our communications, they decipher it, quite easily."

Ragna's eyes brightened. "I wish I could help, but this sounds more like the job for a mage or mathematician."

Perturbed, the Queen tilted her head to the side. "Let me finish. One of our most gifted mages, Gadsi Serano has already developed another encryption method, which appears to be unbreakable. Unfortunately, she cannot pass along this new encryption process to us, because she's been captured by the enemy. We're assembling a team code named 'Gathering Storm,' to rescue her, and I need you to be a part of that team."

Ragna tried his best to look weak and ill. "Humph. I must respectfully decline your request, Your Highness. I'm way too old and too slow to be of any help. I'd just get in the way."

Tealeaf couldn't resist chiming in. "Yeah, and don't forget too dumb and ugly."

Wyn elbowed Tealeaf in the side. "Sister, please…"

Ragna could feel his blood pressure rise as he locked eyes with Tealeaf. "And who are you, little Miss Mudcrab?" As much as it went against her nature, Tealeaf kept her lips pressed together and waved Ragna off as if he were a fly.

Composing himself, Ragna continued. "Your Highness, I can find you twenty men, all qualified Fighter Guild members in their primes. Just say the word."

Wyn pulled her hood back, revealing her face for the first time. "We don't need twenty men, we need you." Ragna did a double-take. This woman looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place her. She was a Breton to be sure, fair skinned, with piercing green eyes, and long auburn hair that was tied back in a ponytail. Her facial features were delicate and petite, almost doll-like.

"Do I know you?" he said.

Wyn continued, "No, not as of yet, Sir. This mission requires a very small team, four to be exact." She motioned towards Tealeaf and Aiz'lee. "It will be made up of the three of us, and hopefully, you."

Ragna nearly choked on his spittle. "Sorry, I don't fight with…I only fight alongside men." And with that, Ragna boldly turned and started to exit.

But Wyn continued, "That's too bad. You sound a lot like Big-Bear, our adversary. All of his fighters are men."

Ragna froze in his tracks, then remarked, "Big-Bear?" He turned back around, scratching his head. "I've heard that name before," he said, as he tugged hard on his beard. "Big-Bear is back, bawled…the bug, or some such gibberish."

Queen Ayrenne stated matter-of-factly, "Mage Serano was captured by an Orc chieftain who goes by that alias, Big-Bear. His real name is Kurog Gro-Bagrakh."

All color drained from Ragna's cheeks when he heard Kurog's name. Even his eyes seemed to fade, changing from blue to grey. He grunted. "That monster died, many, many years ago. I can assure you of that."

The Queen could sense this was a touchy subject for her old friend, so she softened her tone. "So some say. The truth of the matter is, we aren't sure who this "Kurog" is. Whether it's an imposter, the original, or even the monster reincarnated, it doesn't matter. He's captured our Mage, and only the Divines know what he's doing to her…"

Ragna saluted the Queen, deadly serious. "Sign me up then. My only requirement is, I'll need all the mandrake you can spare."

Tealeaf and Aiz'lee looked at each other quizzically, wondering about Ragna's connection to Kurog and suspicious about his sudden change of heart.


	6. Fine, Frilly & Fancy

Sitting in a marble tub filled with warm coconut milk, and hyacinth petals, Ragna leaned his head against the rim of the lavishly appointed soaker and smoked his long stemmed pipe. He watched as the delicate puffs of tobacco smoke rose up and intermingled with the steam rising from the tub. _Now this…I call pampered living!_ No doubt, he was feeling much better. One of the King's healers had already stitched up his nose and applied some sort of sticky green suave to the break in order to keep the swelling down.

Barely an arm's reach away, sat the dead-lad's dog in a similar tub. Although, unlike Ragna, the canine was not happy about the bath, and could be heard softly whining under her breath. Even so, Ragna felt it was important to take full advantage of the current situation and demanded that even Blood Meridian get the same, pampered treatment that he and the dog were getting. Vicereeve Pelidil insisted that there were no tubs big enough to handle such an animal. And before storming out of the bathhouse exasperated, Pelidil exclaimed "Your horse, if it can be called that…will receive the finest treatment possible at the Royal Stables. Much better than what we can provide here in the bathhouse, I assure you, Sir!" Ragna made himself a mental note to check on Blood later. He didn't trust any wood elf wearing frilly lace, and the Vicereeve's outfit was covered with the stuff!

Several minutes later, came a gentle knock outside the bathhouse door. A muffled voice said, "Master Greybeard. Tis I, Garwen Pinewood, your humble servant."

Ragna replied, "Yes? Come in."

A slender wood elf male of about twelve years of age entered, carrying an armful of towels, a kettle of tea and assorted clothing. The youngster placed everything on a nearby stool, then held up Ragna's leather pouch. "The Vicereeve found two pieces of mandrake for you. They're inside the pouch, as you asked."

"Two! That's it?" Ragna's mood immediately soured.

"Yes. He said to tell you that the flood destroyed the recent harvest, and our store-houses remain depleted from the war effort."

Ragna groused, "Fivefold irritation." Deep lines stretched across his forehead. "Hand me one of those towels, Lad, then start drying the shepherd off."

"Right away, Sir. It doesn't appear she enjoyed the bath very much."

Ragna grunted as he rummaged through the pile of clothing that the boy delivered, discovering a pair of knee-high boots fringed with delicate lace, a jacket made of fellrunner feathers, and a pair of leotards dyed pink, of all colors! "And what's…all of this?" Ragna gasped.

The child smiled broadly. "For the masquerade party, of course." Ragna furrowed his brow as the child rambled on, "The King's Festivus. It happens only once a year and you're a guest of the King!" Garwen bowed, "But you cannot go without a costume."

Ragna tugged on his beard. "Nobody said anything about a damn party. Are the other members of my group, you know those three females that act like a pack of lamias, are they attending this thing?

"Yes, they will be attending, Sir. Wyn said it would be several days before they were ready to begin the mission."

"Humph." Ragna started braiding the end of his beard as he pondered the situation. "And there will be other women at this shindig too…single women?"

The child nodded. "Oh, yes. It's the finest, frilliest party of the year. And there will be lots of beautiful maidens, all wanting to dance with you, I bet!"

Ragna frowned, not sure if he should get his hopes up. "Well, you're gonna have to find me something else to wear. I don't wear lace, feathers or anything frilly. It's against my religion."

* * *

Ragna stepped into the grand ballroom wearing a head-to-toe monkey costume. He was thankful the face on the headpiece was open, because the costume was covered in mammoth hair, and it was incredibly hot. But the open face also made for a comical appearance, particularly with the glob of green suave still caked over his nose. By his side was the dead-lad's dog, wearing a cape of brightly colored fellrunner feathers. Ragna looked at the dog, feeling apologetic. "I know, let's hope we don't run into anyone we know here."

Ragna tried to get his bearings in the cavernous room, but the setting was so spectacular…it was almost overwhelming. All of the furniture and decorations were fashioned from exotic plants and flowers native to Grahtwood. And suspended high overhead, a network of vines held thousands of lit candles, making the room look like a jungle at night. In the center of the ballroom, an orchestra played as elegantly costumed partygoers wined, dined and danced.

Ragna scanned the long, winding line of females standing near the dance floor until his eyes caught sight of a shapely thigh as it jut out from under a blue sequined gown. _A breton's shape, to be sure_. The woman's ornate gown featured a high backed, fan shaped collar that plummeted down into a low cut neckline, showing off her ample cleavage. _This one shows promise!_ He pointed at the dead-lad's dog and whispered, "Be good now, and  stay." He took a deep breath, and approached the mysterious woman. Getting closer, he could see that her gown was covered with tiny, sequined snowflakes of various sizes and shapes, and that a snow-covered forest scene adorned the paper-mâché mask that covered her eyes and nose. "Hail Miss. Can I fetch you a drink?"

"Certainly," the woman said, followed by a giggle. She lowered her mask just long enough for Ragna to see that it was Wyn. Then she bit her lip, trying not to laugh. "You look rather silly with all that fur on your head."

Ragna sighed. "Fine. Of all the women here…"

Wyn shrugged off Ragna's comment. "I could say the same of you, Sir. I'll have a mint chai with a splash of Cheydinhal Sherry."

Ragna bowed haphazardly and then as he turned, bumped into the dead-lad's dog, who was waiting by his feet. "Damn mutt." Ragna and the dog headed off towards the bartender. Reaching the bar, Ragna yelled, "One mint chai with sherry and…" He studied the liquor bottles stacked up behind the bartender. "And…gimme a glass of water."

The barkeep chuckled. "Water, huh? Sure you can handle that?"

Ragna flashed a fake smile. "Can you handle it when my hands squeeze the last breath out of your fat face?"

The barkeep blanched and went about his business.

* * *

In the center of the dance floor, Aiz'lee and Tealeaf were enjoying themselves, dancing folk-style, hooking arms, high stepping and spinning like two whirlwinds. They both wore mid-length dresses. Aiz'lee's was black, decorated with white thunderbolts and she wore a black mask, while Tealeaf's dress was red and gold, with a mask shaped like a burning sun. The two friends were such good dancers, a small crowd had gathered around them, cheering them on.

Suddenly, Aiz'lee stopped dancing, and stared at a debonair-looking High Elf male in the crowd. The abrupt stop wrenched Tealeaf's arm, and she exclaimed, "Damn, Kid! Give me some warning next time you decide to stop." Ignoring Tealeaf, Aiz'lee continued gazing at the fellow with the long, white hair tied back in a ponytail. The towering male stood head and shoulders above everyone in the room, and was even several inches taller than the statuesque Aiz'lee. She walked over to him and took his arm. "Kirk? Is that you?"

Kirkley anxiously bowed. "Aiz'lee. It's so good to see you. Can we talk, in private?"

Aiz'lee tilted her head to one side. "Why, of course."

* * *

Sitting at a dimly lit table away from the crowd, Kirkley fidgeted with one end of his perfectly coiffed moustache. The last time Aiz'lee saw her friend his hair was black and his skin radiated a golden hue, just like her own. But now he had a deathly pallor, and his eyes were bloodshot. Finally, she said, "That's an amazing make-up job. You really look like an honest to goodness vampire!"

Kirkley swallowed hard. "It's not make-up, my dear, but the real thing I'm afraid."

She studied Kirkley closely. _He's not kidding?_ Aiz'lee felt her heart drop into her stomach. "Muddle-headed me. I…I'm so sorry. How?"

"My crew and I recently sailed up the Elsweyr Straits to deliver supplies to the army in Cyrodiil. Unfortunately, on the return trip we were attacked by Daggerfall Covenant forces. Forces that included a large contingent of vampires." He clenched his teeth before continuing. "The captain is supposed to go down with his ship...but I regret to say, I was one of the few survivors."

Aiz'lee felt horrible. She didn't know what to say as her eyes grew misty.

Kirkley forced himself to smile. "Look on the bright side, your parents won't be so keen on you marrying me, after all."

"Stop it Kirk. That's not funny in the least. And by the way, I finally told them…point blank. I'm not attracted to males of any shape, size or race. I told them I can't help it, it's just the way it is. And furthermore, even if I was attracted to you, I don't intend on settling down anytime soon."

Kirkley's eyes widened, "I'm glad. I mean, I'm happy you were able to tell them."

Aiz'lee placed her hand on one of Kirkley's. "Thanks. And like I said before, it's nothing personal."

"I'm sure it wasn't an easy conversation."

Aiz'lee nodded grimly. "Father disowned me, cut me off from the family and my inheritance." She tried to smile, but just couldn't. "Not being able to see my younger brothers, that hurts the most."

Kirkley replied, "I'm sorry to hear that, truly. Let me know if I can be of any help."

Luckily, I have a little money of my own set aside, but it won't support the lavish lifestyle I'm accustom to, that's for sure. But I'll adapt…I have no choice." Aiz'lee reached over and gave Kirkley a strong hug. "So, what are you going to do now?" She looked serious. "I trust you're not going to…bite me?"

Kirkley smiled. "No thank you, animal blood works just fine. What's left of my fleet is being repaired in Velyn Harbor. Once the repairs have been completed, I will be escorting you and your friends to Orsinium by way of the seas off Hammerfell. After that I will travel on alone to Ravenspire.

Aiz'lee shuttered. "But that's the heart of vampire country!"

"I've learned from several sources that Baron Montclair has restored his wife, the Lady Montclair from the same, dreadful affliction I have. So I hope to seek out his assistance. Have no fear, my friend, I plan on returning to normal, one day soon." The two High Elves raised their drink glasses and toasted.

* * *

Several tables away, Ragna and Wyn munched on roast mutton and ochre mash. Ragna took a sip of water, then cleared his throat before speaking. "Exactly where in Orsinium is Kurog holding this mage? Maybe I've been there before."

Wyn was starting to feel light-headed from her sherry, but she could still think clearly. She shook her head, disappointed with the question. "I didn't say." Her eyes gave Ragna a scolding look. _Does he really think I'm that stupid?_ "If I told you, you wouldn't be tempted to head out that way, all by yourself, now would you?

Ragna tried his best to look innocent. "Oh no. I wouldn't think of it."

Wyn looked around to make sure no one was watching them, then took her mask off and rubbed her eyes. "Sorry, I'm subject to migraines." This was only the second time Ragna saw her face up close, and her features finally sparked a memory. He studied her carefully for another few seconds, until she put her mask back on.

A sly smile crept across Ragna's face. "Now I remember where I know you from. Do you recall a certain…debauchery in Redfur? It was a three-day orgy and skooma fest with the Hollow Moon Clan. You should remember, you arranged the whole thing…"

Wyn looked solemn. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I've never been to Redfur. It was probably my sister, Elontra, we're identical twins."

Ragna blushed, genuinely embarrassed. "Really? I guess that would explain things." He tugged on his beard. "Look, that was a long time ago, and I was just a pea-brained kid at the time, I didn't know any better. I don't recommend that lifestyle to anyone."

Wyn smirked. "Yeah, right…"

"I must say though, your sister's tastes were extreme if you know what I mean…on the dark side, so to speak."

Wyn rubbed her paralyzed arm. "Evil is the word, Sir. She's evil to the core." With that, she tried to change the subject. "So, you've gone from binging on skooma to drinking strictly water?"

Ragna nodded. "Pretty much. It was a bad time for me, of which I have no desire to revisit. Besides-" Before Ragna could continue, a male guest in the middle of the dining area, climbed up on one of the tables. Dressed like a jester, the person shouted in a shrill voice that echoed throughout the ballroom, "Here ye, hear ye! Indulge me, you feeble-minded scum!"

The ballroom got quiet as the jester removed his mask, revealing his true identity. He was a dremora priest, complete with grey, emaciated face, and a pair of ebony horns that curled inwards. He licked his thin, black lips with delight. "I speak on behalf of the mighty Fa-Nuit-Hen, lord and scion of Boethiah. The demiprince has a singular message, beautiful in its purity, which is this: surrender your trappings of time, cause and consequence, for they will not apply in your future home, the place known as…Oblivion!" Several members of the King's Guard rushed towards the priest, but he quickly transformed himself into a raven. As the bird soared overhead, it cackled, "Eat! Eat up, you gluttonous fools!" Members of the crowd gasped when they heard that and some even spit out whatever they happened to be eating at the time, worried that the food had been poisoned.

Before the raven could escape by means of an open window, a single arrow sped through the air, piercing the bird's chest, and pinning it against a nearby wall. With bow in hand, Tealeaf stepped up onto a chair and said in a dead-pan tone, "Speaking of gluttony, anyone interested in some fresh raven meat?" Applause filled the room.

Since many of the partygoers (including the attending members of the military), were impressed with Tealeaf's marksmanship, she spent the rest of the night conducting an archery demonstration while members of the mage's guild checked each guest for any signs of poisoning. Luckily, no one seemed to be ill. Whether the dremora had actually tried to poison the food, or was merely trying to unsettle the crowd, no one really knew for sure.


	7. Bone Grappler's Nest

Several days after the King's Festivus, Ragna, Kirkley and the three females Ragna had dubbed "the Lamia Queens," (Wyn, Tealeaf and Aiz'lee), began their journey overland through the northern jungles of Grahtwood. Their destination was Velyn Harbor in Malabal Tor, a neighboring kingdom and ally. Kirkley estimated that as long as they remained on the main roads, the trip would only take them about two days traveling by mount. Once in Velyn Harbor, they would then set sail for Orsinium.

Aside from running into a solitary bandit, which the group easily disarmed, the first day of travel was uneventful, or as Tealeaf often reminded everyone, "If this trip gets any more boring, I'm gonna fall off my horse!" The odds of running into enemy forces was extremely low, since most, if not all of the Daggerfall Covenant forces were currently entrenched in the Imperial City, which was over a hundred miles away.

Later in the day, the group came upon an unexpected impasse. Several fallen trees blocked the road, requiring Kirkley and Ragna to put their broadaxes to work. It was a backbreaking task, and by the time the timber was cleared away, darkness had fallen, so the group pitched tents by the side of the road.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep due to the renewed throbbing in his lower back, Ragna volunteered for the first-watch of the night. He propped himself up against the widest tree trunk he could find, lit his pipe, and tried to block out the pain. But nothing he tried seemed to help. It wasn't long before he pulled out one of the mandrake roots he had and started chewing on it. That gave him enough relief so that later on when his watch was over, he was able to doze off for a few hours.

The next day the group crossed into the neighboring land of Malabal Tor. The terrain was similar to the rainforests of Grahtwood, but with one noticeable difference: grey mushrooms, the size of oak barrels, grew everywhere. The weather was sunny and dry, with temperatures in the mid-70s, and the road followed alongside the scenic Tanglehaven River. By late afternoon they had passed the ruins of Abamath and everyone agreed, if the weather continued to cooperate, they would reach Velyn Harbor sometime that night.

Unbeknownst to Ragna and his companions, Chief Ulukhaz, leader of the Drublog Wood Orcs and her army were less than three hundred yards away from their current location. Ulukhaz sat atop her shaggy black pony studying the map her intelligence officer held out before her. There was nothing unusual looking about this stocky Orc chieftain, except for the fifteen ears that hung around her neck. The ears were primarily from High Elves and Wood Elves, but there were also a few human ears on the necklace. What they all had in common was that they had belonged to high-ranking officials of the Aldmeri Dominion. Chief Ulukhaz considered them "souvenirs" and proof of her allegiance to the Big-Bear, King Kurog.

Chief Ulukhaz eyed her second in command, Colonel Yadba, a large, pot-bellied Orc male. "Are you ready, Colonel?"

Yadba saluted. "Yes, My Chief. The battalion[i] has formed a wedge nearly a mile long, starting at the Tanglehaven Bridge, arcing east, then south. As we move towards the river, we will surround the traitors on three sides, and the infested waters will prevent them from escaping to the west. They will have to surrender or be annihilated."

Chief Ulukhaz smiled, her mouth full of rotten teeth. "Fine work, Colonel. Kill them all, save for the Breton woman, she is worth more alive than dead. After that, we will head north to Velyn Harbor and join forces with the Ra Gada."

The colonel yelled, "Forwardddd…march!" and the long line of nearly six hundred foot soldiers began moving at a moderate pace, bushwhacking through the jungle. The battalion's goal was simple: capture the mystic Elonwyn Dawnrider, commonly known as Wyn to her friends, and kill anyone traveling with her.

* * *

As far as the eye could see, the narrow and winding road to Tanglehaven was deserted, except for Ragna and his four companions. At the head of the caravan was Tealeaf and Kirkley, riding side-by-side on chestnut chargers. After them came Wyn and Aiz'lee on their senche-tigers, followed by Ragna on Blood Meridian, with the dead-lad's dog bringing up the rear. Aiz'lee chatted with Wyn until her large, pointy ears perked up. She immediately nudged Wyn, "Did, did you hear that?"

Wyn paused for a moment so she could focus on the sounds around her. "No…I don't hear anything." Both females pulled their mounts to a stop. Ragna thought the ladies were taking a break to stretch, and so he did likewise, gingerly climbing down from Blood Meridian. Ragna's back was feeling better, but he didn't want to take any chances with it flaring up again.

Wyn called out, "Tea, hold up! Do you hear anything up there?"

Tealeaf and Kirkley reined in their respective mounts. Then Tealeaf listened for a moment before saying, "Nope. How about you Kirkley?"

Like Aiz'lee, Kirkley could actually move his ears so that they twisted out and around to the side which was an ability only High Elves had. "No. I don't hear anything unusual, either."

Ragna glanced down at the dead-lad's dog, then yawned. "The mutt doesn't appear agitated in the least. And the only thing I hear is a ringing in my ears, but that's from too many fights in the arena."

Tealeaf frowned. "We didn't ask you or your deaf dog."

Before Ragna could reply, Aiz'lee jumped in. "Hush!" After a few seconds of silence, she continued, "There it goes again!"

Kirkley was getting concerned. "I don't think we should doubt Aiz'lee. She's well known for her ability to hear even the slightest of sounds. She's been that way since childhood. Some joke she can hear a lock being picked from half a league away!"

Aiz'lee's face grew stern. "It sounds like boots, traipsing through the jungle. Lots of boots. She pointed to the east. "Right up there, somewhere."

Tealeaf jumped down from her horse, grabbed her long bow and bolted into the jungle. "I'll scout and be right back." And with that, she disappeared into the dense foliage.

Ragna figured Aiz'lee was imagining things, and took the opportunity to walk down to the river's edge and stretch. He noticed that the top of the water was choppy and looking closer he could see hundreds of mud colored slaughterfish fighting each other for insects as they landed on the water's surface.

Meanwhile, Kirkley loosened the straps on his shield and two-handed broadsword. "Everyone be ready to flee and make sure your weapons are handy."

Ragna stepped back onto the road. "I'm sure the kid was just imaging things. It's easy to do after so many hours in the saddle, even a saddle as well-made as mine!" He laughed as he pulled himself back atop Blood Meridian.

About that time, Tealeaf reappeared. Sweat and grime covered her face and she looked more worried than usual.

Wyn exclaimed, "Well?"

Tealeaf pointed to a small peninsula on the other side of the river. "We've got to get over there, and I mean now."

Ragna guffawed. "Sure, Miss Mudcrab. That water's rife with slaughterfish. How exactly, do you propose to do that?"

Tealeaf gritted her teeth. "I don't know how. But there's hundreds of Drublog Wood Orcs headed this way. And there's no way we can outrun them, their column looks like it's a mile long!"

Wyn started pacing. "What are the Wood Orcs doing down here? They're supposed to be our allies."

Ragna tossed a leather pauldron over his shoulders and strapped it on. "Orcs, they're the same the world over: liars and turncoats. They go the way the wind blows them."

The Wood Orcs were now less than a hundred yards from the road, close enough that everyone in the group could hear them. The sounds of the approaching army prompted everyone to move down to the water's edge so they could further assess the situation. The river was at least three hundred feet wide and about ten feet deep. Kirkley jogged along the shoreline looking for anything that could be fashioned into a last minute boat, but the trees were too large and heavy to be of any use.

Aiz'lee pried a large, black diamond out from the top-end of her staff and replaced it with a white alabaster gemstone. "There is one thing we can try. But we won't be able to bring our mounts with us."

Desperate, Wyn pleaded with Aiz'lee to continue. "Please, go on, Sister. We don't have much time."

"I should be able to freeze enough of the water for us to float across the river. As long as we don't stand too close to each other, and we will have to paddle quickly. During this time of year, the water will only stay frozen…for about ten minutes, maybe less."

Ragna smirked. "Good thing I haven't put on any of my winter fat yet, huh?"

Tealeaf folded her arms in dismay. "Let Rags stand at the back. I don't want the ice breaking near me!"

Wyn gave her senche-tiger a hug around the neck. "Hopefully, our mounts will be able to make it back to Grahtwood unharmed." Everyone quickly removed their saddles and packs from their animals except for Ragna. He proudly stated, "Being from the Black Isles, Blood Meridian can swim across on his own. Those fish can't kill the undead. Now…one of you can ride him across if you want, but you won't have any legs left by the time you get to the other side!"

Wyn replied, "Fine, but it would help if your mount could carry our belongings."

Ragna nodded. "Good idea. He should be able to carry everything, save for our weapons and shields. I have a feeling we're going to need them." The men started lashing everything onto Blood Meridian.

With the Orc Army almost at the road, Aiz'lee wasted no time raising her staff over the water, and closed her eyes. "Denara dekeipa," she whispered, as her cheeks flashed red. Within seconds, a thick crust of ice formed on top of the water in a circle. But the ice was only about six feet wide, barely large enough for the group to stand on. Everyone tried to spread out on the ice as best as possible, so their weight was evenly dispersed, and it wasn't a second too soon, because the first wave of Wood Orcs entered the road singing, "Die Vermin, die!" and beating their chests.

Using their swords as paddles, Ragna, Kirkley and Tealeaf pushed off from the shoreline and paddled with zeal as Blood Meridian leapt into the water while the other mounts bolted off into the woods.

As soon as the Orcs spotted the floating ice pack they rushed to the water's edge. Some of them tried entering the water only to jump back out, yelling and screaming. Others tossed rocks and spears at their escaping enemies, but Wyn and Aiz'lee used the men's shields to protect everyone on the ice. Within minutes, the floating ice pack was in the middle of the river.

Reaching the first wave of troops on the shoreline, Colonel Yadba commanded his archers to move into position and commence firing. But even that proved ineffective. Foaming at the mouth, the colonel grabbed an orderly. "Get my engineers, or face the fury of Malacath! I need a barge built, and right away!"

Moments later, Chief Ulukhaz arrived on the scene looking frustrated. She commanded her intelligence officer to open her map and she studied it closely. "So much for collecting the bounty on the Breton woman. But you can relax, Colonel. That peninsula is called Bone Grappler's Nest. It is home to the mother of all strangler plants." She grinned. "Leave several companies here to prevent them from coming back this way. And the rest of us will continue onto Velyn Harbor."

The colonel pounded his chest. "Yes, My Chief. And in the morning I'll send a boat across to pick up their bones!"

* * *

[i] Battalion is 300-800, Regiment is 2K-4k, Division is 10-15k.


	8. Compromise To Survive

Eats-No-Skeever sat inside a wrought-iron cage suspended four feet off the ground. Feeling blue, he purred like a lost kitten and wrapped his long tail around himself. The cage hung from the ceiling on a chain and was only big enough for him to sit in. He couldn't stand up or lay down inside it. Plus, whenever his daedric captors were around, they had a habit of swinging and spinning the cage unmercifully. After a few hours of such treatment, most prisoners would vomit or pass out, but being a Khajiit, Eats-No-Skeever was immune to motion sickness, and that only made his captors angrier.

For a moment he thought about his beautiful wife Tealeaf, and his step-children, and wondered what they were doing. _Would they recognize me? I doubt it_ , he thought. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his once soft as silk fur was falling out in clumps.

To prevent himself from losing his mind altogether, Eats-No-Skeever spent most of his time focused on one of three tasks: stretching as best he could to prevent muscle cramps and promote circulation, thinking about ways to escape, and lastly, trying to figure out the races of his cellmates. You see, there were three other cages in this particular section of the Imperial Prison and all three cages held captives. It was just that these other captives were no longer alive, but rather in varying states of decay, which gave the room a "delightfully" putrid smell, as one guard was fond of saying.

Worst of all, Eats-No-Skeever hadn't eaten in twelve days. He didn't count the scraps of soggy bread his jailors gave him, nor the few bugs he'd managed to snag off of his cage, as food. He scratched his flea infested scalp, _Or has it been thirteen days since I've eaten?_ It was hard to keep track of time, especially since there were no windows and torchlight provided the only illumination. But regardless of how many days it had been, he knew if he didn't eat something of substance soon, he would lose his will to live, altogether.

That realization led him to another predicament: the only potential food source in the prison was the disgusting, large sized rodents known as skeevers. At least one or two of them would scurry across the cobblestone floor every day. Unfortunately, as long as Eats-No-Skeever could remember, he hated skeever. Not only did their taste repulse him, but he hated everything about the animal, especially their long ugly snouts, beady eyes and the strange gurgling sounds they made. He had put off making this decision for as long as he could, but his hunger had finally gotten the best of him, it was time…to eat some skeever.

Eats-No-Skeever threaded his tail through the bottom of the cage, then curled it up underneath the cage and waited. Several hours passed by before an old, mangy skeever came wandering by. In an instant, the Khajiit's tail uncurled, dropped to the floor and latched onto the neck of the critter. Lifting the skeever up to the bottom of the cage, Eats-No-Skeever reached a hand through the bars and broke its feeble neck.

* * *

Elonwyn Dawnrider sat in a rigid position on the ground with her eyes closed and her legs crossed in front of her, in the lotus position. In her hands, she held a shirt that had belonged to Eats-No-Skeever. Slowly, she opened her eyes, as if she were returning from another world. Across from her, stood Tealeaf, anxiously tapping her foot. Unable to contain herself any longer, Tealeaf whispered, "Did you see anything?"

In deep concentration, Wyn replied, "Yes. Your husband is very much alive." Then she opened a small pouch of stones, took them in her hand and randomly tossed them on the ground. She studied them before speaking. "He will remain alive in the prison for another twenty-three days, no more."

Tealeaf pounded her fists together. "Then we have to free him now, we cannot afford to wait!"

Wyn raised her finger to her lips. "Sshhh. Not so loud, Sister. They need to rest." She pointed towards Aiz'lee, Kirkley and Ragna who were all asleep, nestled up against a gigantic tree root not far away. When they arrived on the peninsula, it didn't take them long to spot the strangler plants growing everywhere. These plants were harmless as long as you avoided getting within four or five feet of them. If you did happen to invade their space, their petals would fly open, unfurling a sticky, rope-like tongue, which would snatch you up and pull you back to the poisonous head of the plant where you would suffocate. The group agreed that with nightfall approaching, they would wait until the morning to navigate through the minefield of strangler plants.

Tealeaf lowered her voice. "Fine. Is this better?" Wyn nodded, so Tealeaf continued, "We can go straight through Reaper's March into Cyrodiil, and from there-"

Wyn interrupted. "Eats-No-Skeever has twenty-three days, Mage Serano doesn't have anywhere near that amount of time."

Tealeaf looked ready to explode. "Are you sure? What if you're wrong?"

Wyn felt bad for her friend. "The stones have never lied to me, Sister. I promise you, as soon as we've rescued Serano, we'll head to the Imperial City."

A solitary tear rolled down Tealeaf's face, and she quickly brushed it away. Wyn had never seen her so upset. She rose to her feet to console her friend, but Tealeaf stepped away, moving down to the water's edge. She looked out across the surface of the dark water to the far shore, where the Wood Orc campfires were burning bright. She wished she had Wyn's powers and could see Eats-No-Skeever for herself. She whispered, "Stay alive my beloved feline, no matter what it takes…"

" _Aaaarrroooo…_ " the dead-lad's dog suddenly howled. Startled, Tealeaf turned around and was shocked to see that both Wyn and Aiz'lee were in the death grip of the biggest strangler plant she had ever seen.


	9. Dearth Of Death

Ragna and company thought they had set up their campsite against an old maple tree that had smooth, grey-green bark, but as it turned out, it wasn't a tree at all. It was a strangler plant of gigantic proportions. Most stranglers had only one head and were about a man's height, but this one was easily twenty feet tall, had three heads, and a trunk you could barely wrap your arms around.

As soon as Tealeaf saw her two friends dangling from the plant like rag dolls, she sprinted toward the strangler, transforming herself into a werewolf mid-run. With her powerful hind legs, she leapt into the air, aiming for where the plant's pedals were closing in around Aiz'lee's face. However, before Tealeaf could reach her destination, one of the strangler's tongues latched onto her. Now, all three females were struggling to stay alive!

Meanwhile, Ragna and Kirkley had woken from their sleep and had unsheathed their weapons. Ragna jumped on the bare back of Blood Meridian, and started riding around the strangler. Like a perfectly tuned instrument in the hands of a musician, horse and rider acted as one. Whenever one of the heads of the strangler swung down to bash Ragna, Blood would swerve out of the way, smoke billowing from his nostrils. Ragna shouted, " _Hoorahhh!_ " The battle cry seemed to agitate the giant plant and energize Blood at the same time. When the strangler raised its heads back into an upright position, (it couldn't remain bent-over for long without damaging its trunk), the horse would close-in on the plant, allowing Ragna to slash at it with his sword. Not only did Ragna's attack prevent the plant from devoting all of its energy to killing its captives, it gave Kirkley time to start chopping away at the thick trunk with his axe. But, this plant was smart. It knew the best way to stop Kirkley was to counter-attack quickly, and that meant freeing-up one of its lethal tongues. Therefore, the plant dropped the dazed and semi-conscious Wyn, and with renewed vigor, the strangler's tongue headed for Kirkley.

Kirkley quickly uttered, "Denara deteri," and then grimaced as foot long spikes of hot, calcified skin, shot out of the back of his leather cuirass. This "spiked armor" was a special draconic skill known only to those trained by the old Dragon Knight masters. It made him look like a porcupine with its quills on fire. When the strangler's tongue finally slammed into Kirkley like a whip, rather than knocking him unconscious, it barely stunned him. And even better than that, the fiery spikes made the plant recoil in pain.

Seeing an opening in the strangler's defenses, Ragna kneed Blood and the horse leapt high into the air. Ragna released his grip from his mount, letting momentum carry him toward one of the strangler's heads. With both hands on his sword, he brought the blade down full-force across the plant's neck, severing off one of its heads. The plant shivered violently and made a strange, moaning sound.

With its vitals draining, the plant released Tealeaf and Aiz'lee and tried to counter-attack yet again, this time successfully knocking Kirkley to the ground. But by now, the base of the strangler was cut halfway through. Ragna and Kirkley charged into the weakened trunk, pushing it over just enough for gravity to take over. The trunk snapped and the plant crashed to the ground with a loud rumble.

As his adrenaline started to wane, Ragna staggered to the ground, holding his lower back. "Accursed, bloody back!" He winced as he gingerly lay across the trunk of the fallen strangler.

* * *

Aiz'lee spoke in a soft, trembling voice, clearly not her usual, energetic self. "I'd say, we cheated the reaper, this day, my friends." The young, High Elf's face was pale and swollen. Plus, ruby colored lacerations ran across her face and neck. She remained prostrate on the ground as Wyn held a damp cloth over her eyes.

Wyn replied, "Yes, we're all lucky to be alive." Wyn had her own fair share of facial lacerations, too. She continued, "Especially you, Sister. A few more seconds in the clutches of that dreadful thing, and I fear you'd have left us for good." Kirkley and Tealeaf sat on the nearby stump of the strangler plant, tending to their own nicks and bruises. Meanwhile, Ragna remained sprawled across the trunk of the fallen strangler, rubbing his aching back. He felt around inside his leather pouch for a piece of mandrake root, but finding none, he tossed the pouch into the woods, disgusted. "Yeah, a real dearth of death," then he pointed at Tealeaf. " No thanks to little Miss Mudcrab there."

Sullen, Tealeaf rose to her feet and drew out her sword. But Ragna didn't care, he certainly wasn't afraid of her. He continued. "It was your watch, Mubcrab. If you'd have been doing your job instead of daydreaming, none of this would have happened." Tealeaf's face turned flush and her jaw stiffened. She wanted to speak, but forced herself to remain silent.

Wyn removed the cloth from Aiz'lee's eyes and said, "Alright. See if it's any better."

The young, High Elf opened her eyes, but shook her head, "No, I still can't see anything…" She started to sob.

Tealeaf moved closer to Aiz'lee and whispered. "I'm sorry, Kid."

Ragna cracked, "You should be sorry…fivefold."

Tealeaf then waltzed over to where Ragna lay, and placed the blade of her sword against her own wrist. "Yes, this was my fault, and I am sorry, beyond measure." She pressed the blade hard against her skin, drawing blood to the surface. "On the life of my children, I swear it will not happen again. Otherwise, as you are my witness, I will cut off my own, damn hand!"

Ragna expected an argument from the Wood Elf rather than an apology, and that surprised him, but he pretended not to care. "That's a bit extreme, but…alright, then."

Wyn wiped the tears from Aiz'lee's face. "Listen Sister, your sight might yet return, once all of the toxins leave your body, so don't give up hope. Even my vision is still a bit blurry."

With his back throbbing, Ragna was in a foul mood. "Ain't this sweet. We haven't even reached the ship yet, and we're already half blind and beaten down. And on top of that…" He glared at Wyn. "Our healer ain't much of a healer. We're in real trouble, I tell you."

Wyn rose to her feet, and calmy crossed over to where Ragna lay. She matter-of-factly spit in her hands, rubbed them together, mumbled, "Edora Oko," and then slapped Ragna so hard across the face, he fell off the trunk of the strangler. He stumbled to his knees, stars dancing before his eyes. "Explain yourself, you…you, accursed woman!"

Wyn just stood there smiling, her arms folded.

Ragna bellowed, "I'll strike any woman that deserves it wench, now speak up!"

Wyn replied, "How's your back now?"

Ragna gently twisted his back around a little bit. "It…feels good," he said, astonished.

Kirkley said, "Not to interrupt folks, but I think we need to get Aiz'lee up on Blood Meridian, and be on our way." He pointed to the middle of the river, where a barge loaded with Drublog Wood Orcs was gliding towards them.


	10. Stinkhorn & Torchbugs

Luckily for Ragna and company, they were traveling light. In a matter of seconds everyone gathered up their belongings and disappeared into the jungle, long before the orcs landed onshore. Wyn figured they had a five-minute head start on their pursuers, and under normal circumstances, that would have been sufficient. The Drublogs were known for their melee-fighting prowess, not their tracking abilities. In fact, their eyesight and sense of smell was plain lousy. But Kirkley informed everyone that the orcs had a durzog on each barge, and that changed everything. These lion-sized, four legged reptilians had bulging red eyes on each side of their lizard-like heads and a mouthful of long, sharp teeth. Worse yet, durzogs possessed infrared vision and a keen sense of smell, which made them natural trackers.

Kirkley urged everyone to pick up their pace as they moved through the underbrush and Ragna suggested that he and Tealeaf were best equipped to deal with the durzogs. As a boy, Ragna had been trained by the Greybeards in the art of wilderness living, and he knew Tealeaf's ability to take advantage of her natural surroundings would be outstanding, she was a Wood Elf after all. Tealeaf was surprised that Ragna would consider her or any female well-equipped to do anything other than cook or bear children. She agreed to assist him, albeit reluctantly. The pair traipsed away from the rest of the group, only to return minutes later, their arms loaded with stinkhorn. The orange, spike shaped mushrooms grew in the dark, loamy soil under rotten timber and they were perfect for masking one's own body odor. Unfortunately, as their name suggested, stinkhorn also smelled horrific, a cross between rotten eggs and vomit. Ragna crushed several of them in his hands and despite Aiz'lee's pleas, smeared the juice on everyone except Tealeaf. He even made sure to rub some on the Dead-lad's Dog and Blood Meridian.

Next, Tealeaf unloaded most of her gear: armor-plated vest, bow and arrows, rucksack, water skin, blanket and sword, giving them to Ragna. The only item she kept with her was her dagger. Ragna explained that Tealeaf would need to be light on her feet since she volunteered to lead the durzogs away from the rest of the caravan.

Kirkley objected. "I don't think that's a good idea. Why don't I go instead?"

Tealeaf replied, "No worries, Kirky. Just as you're at home on the seas, so am I in the woods." She smirked. "Actually, I plan on having some fun with this." Then with a sparkle in her eye, she turned and headed off into the jungle, heading in a northeast direction. Everyone else continued heading northwest. Ragna made sure to bring up the rear of the main group, removing any traces of their route, such as telltale footprints and any damaged foliage.

Excited, Tealeaf bounded through the woods, her movement a combination of sprinting and bouncing like a deer. Rather than taking the path of least resistance, see sought out the exact opposite. First, she ran up and down several steep hills in a figure-eight pattern. She was running in larger and larger circles. _This might not wind the durzogs, but the orcs will be cursing!_ In addition, whenever she came across a hollow tree trunk (particularly the smaller-sized ones), she made sure to crawl through them. She couldn't help but grin when she imagined the durzogs getting their heads stuck inside the logs and the orcs having to rescue them!

Sure enough, Tealeaf could hear the durzogs off in the distance, yipping and yelping as they followed her circuitous route. Coming to a massive grove of bamboo, she stopped to catch her breath and think. These bamboos were so thick you could barely wrap two hands around them. Smiling, Tealeaf shimmied thirty feet up the first stalk she came to and with her legs wrapped around the top of the pole, reached out and grabbed onto another shoot nearby. She continued doing that, moving from the top of one bamboo to the top of the next one, until she had traveled about thirty feet through the air. Then, she finally slid back down to the ground. _Welcome to my obstacle course, you fang-toothed slumgullions!_ She then changed directions and ran northwest, hoping to catch up with her comrades, who were now almost a mile away.  
 _  
_Tealeaf didn't wait around to see how the orcs and their pets fared, but if she had, she would have been ecstatic with the results. Despite their size, one of the durzogs had squeezed itself all the way into the middle of one of the hollow tree trunks, and since none of the orcs thought to bring an axe, it took them quite a while to hack into the tree, and pull the animal out. By the time they reached the bamboo grove, both durzogs where tired and beat-up. Even so, one of the animals managed to follow Tealeaf's scent up the bamboo pole, only to fall and snap its neck when it hit the ground. That's when the orcs realized that the two durzogs were mates, because the second one immediately started rolling on the ground and howling inconsolably. Flustered and nearing exhaustion, the orcs turned around and trudged back towards the rest of the Drublog army.

* * *

At the head of the caravan, Kirkley paused to check his compass because it was his job to make sure they kept moving in a northwesterly direction. Satisfied that they were still on course, he continued pushing through the vines and spiked thickets in front of him. Wyn followed not far behind him, also on foot. She held the reins of Blood Meridian behind her, leading the horse through the briar patch, so Aiz'lee, who was still blind, could ride. Ragna and the Dead-lad's Dog continued to bring up the rear.

As the group moved even deeper into the jungle, the vegetation overhead got so dense, it prevented most of the available daylight from ever reaching the jungle floor. However, Ragna was grateful for the darkness and the incessant sound of the chirping monkeys which seemed to be everywhere. At least these things would make it difficult for anyone to realize that he was sobbing uncontrollably.

Ragna knew that Aiz'lee was aware of his "condition," but he had hoped she had forgotten about it, or at least thought it was a one-time occurrence. More importantly, he had no desire to let anyone else know about his problem, so he drifted a few extra feet away from the group as he continued to cry. Little did he know, everyone already knew about his condition, and they could hear him crying even now. They just pretended not to notice it! Meanwhile, Wyn quietly thanked the Divines that Tealeaf had not yet returned, as the Wood Elf would have most certainly made fun of Ragna's crying, and that would have only made matters worse.

Once his crying fit was over, Ragna dried his face and rejoined the group. "Hold up a second and I'll make us some lights so we can see where we're going. Don't want anyone stepping on a slumbering panther or giant snake. And believe me, that wouldn't be the first time something like that happened."

Kirkley stopped, dead in his tracks. "That's probably more information than we needed to know, Chap, which leads me to my next question; shouldn't we have circumvented this part of the jungle to begin with? I know it's the quickest route to Velyn Harbor, but-"

Wyn interrupted him, "Not only that Kirkley, but if we were to change direction, Tealeaf would have a hard time finding us."

Kirkley nodded grimly, resigned to staying the course. "True enough." Then he shook several beetles out of his long, white hair. "Make sure to check your clothing and hair ladies, this place is full of creepy crawlers." With that, the females immediately began checking themselves for bugs.

Wyn looked particularly squeamish as she brushed a furry centipede off her shoulders. "Oh my! This is just…grand."

Ragna stuck a chunk of dried welwa fat onto three sticks and handed one to Kirkley and one to Wyn, keeping the third one for himself. Almost instantly, torchbugs appeared out of the shadows, and swarmed to the fat at the tip of each stick. These flying insects pulsed with a green light, providing a decent amount of natural illumination. Wyn and Kirkley were impressed with Ragna's ingenuity.

Kirkley remarked, "Very clever. Or as Aiz'lee would say, that's-"

"Fantabulous!" Wyn and Ragna chimed-in, which made everyone laugh.

"Shadows lie, people die, don't you ever wonder why?"

The disembodied voice ended Ragna's laughter. It sounded like the same, feeble voice he had heard on the sailing ship. Ragna shook his head, as if he was trying to wake himself from a bad dream.

"Shadows lie, people die, don't you ever wonder why?"

He flashed his torchbug light behind him, but no one was there. He said, "Did anyone else hear that?"

Everyone in the caravan stopped moving, and listened intently. After a long pause, Kirkley whispered. "I don't hear anything but the monkeys."

Aiz'lee twisted around in her saddle, her ears twitching. "Me either." That is when Ragna noticed a large, green bug perched on one of Blood Meridian's saddlebags. Moving closer, he saw that it was a praying mantis. _Could it be?_ Moving closer still, he could see that the insect had the same, red markings on its spindly legs as the praying mantis on the ship had.

"Shadows lie, people die, don't you ever wonder why?"

Ragna was incredulous. "Stop kidding around now, folks. No one else heard that?"

Not sure what to make of all this, Wyn and Kirkley looked at each other with a large measure of concern. No one said a word as Ragna gently lifted the insect off the saddlebags and held it up, just inches from his eyes. "I must be losing my mind, then…"


	11. Shadows Lie, People Die

It wasn't long after Ragna found the praying mantis, that Tealeaf rejoined the caravan. She was sweaty and tired, but otherwise appeared in fine spirits and assured the group that she had left the orcs, "chasing their own hindquarters." As soon as she spotted the praying mantis perched on Ragna's shoulder, she grew curious. "Found yourself a new pet, Rags? You know…insects are the eyes and ears of the forest, and should roam free. Matter of fact, not long ago, one of my daughters wanted to keep a baby Shellbug[i] for a pet, but I explained to her that it wouldn't be fair to the animal. She understood, and she was just a child." Ragna shot her a menacing look, so she decided to drop the subject, at least for the moment.

After another hour of hiking, the group's trek through the jungle was almost over. That's when the scent of charred wood and burnt flesh began to waft through the trees. It was an intense, rancid odor, and it came from the direction in which they were heading...Velyn Harbor. Aiz'lee spoke first. "Craporrific! First the stinkhorn, and now this!"

Wyn covered her nose. "I bet the Drublogs are burning Velyn Harbor so they can control the port. It looks like there's no running away from this fight, after all, my friends."

Concerned, Kirkley checked his compass once more. "That stench is coming from the north, all right. Let's hope my ship is still in one piece when we get there."

* * *

As soon as they reached the sandy cliffs that overlooked Velyn Harbor, Ragna and company paused to assess the situation. Two high arched bridges connected the breezy seaside town to several tiny, coastal islands. Most people considered it a tropical paradise. But today was different, and Aiz'lee could hear what sounded like hundreds of refugees passing them by on the road. She was anxious for information. "Please, someone tell me what's going on!"

Wyn helped steady an old woman loaded down with a heavy sack. "Well, there's lots of people…mainly women, and children, trying to flee what's left of the town. And more than half of the buildings are on fire."

Aiz'lee felt sick. "That's horrible," she mumbled. Her family had vacationed in Velyn Harbor often. It was well known for having the best beaches in all of Tamriel and she loved the many quaint shops and eateries.

Kirkley pulled a telescope out from a pouch that hung over his shoulder and surveyed the town below. "Small groups of militia are skirmishing with the orcs by the bridge to the east, but they're clearly outnumbered." He scanned the harbor looking for the multi-colored masts of his galleon, the _Foul Weather Friend_ , but there were too many buildings blocking his view. Then he looked towards the lighthouse and the open seas. "Vile, skeever blood!" he gasped. "It's warships. An armada approaches from the north. They're too far away for me to make out their insignia, but my hunch is, they're not friendlies."

Ragna carefully placed the praying mantis inside an empty, wide-mouthed stein he used for drinking ale, and then placed it inside of one of his saddlebags. He then turned to Wyn and winked. "You best slap me again, I'm gonna need my back at full strength."

Wyn ignored Ragna, focusing on the harbor instead. "Warships? This sounds more and more like a major campaign on King Kurog's part."

Ragna spat. "No doubt, got to be a joint effort between the Daggerfall and Ebonheart. The damn orcs are way too dumb to have their own navy."

Ragna and Tealeaf began to unsheathe their swords just as a young Lieutenant in Aldmeri Dominion regalia approached, his gear battered and speckled with blood. "Hail strangers," he said. He pulled off his cracked helmet to reveal a bushy-haired Breton with streaks of black war paint around each of his eyes. "I'm Lieutenant Dorner, with the Fists of Thalmor. You appear to be fighters, can I enlist your aid in defending the city?"

Kirkley stepped forward, saluting. "Well met soldier. Captain Kirkley here. Yes, we're here to help. Please apprise us of the situation."

Dorner returned the salute. "Sir, the Drublog clan of Wood Orcs, approximately two hundred strong, attacked from the east. I believe it's the orc chieftain herself, Ulukhaz, who's leading them."

Kirkley looked like he had a sudden case of indigestion. "Ughh, Chief Ulukhaz, reknown the world-over for her infamous necklace made of ears."

Aiz'lee reached up and tugged on her long earlobes. "I prefer my ears right where they are, thank you."

Lieutenant Dorner strapped his helmet back on. "They overran most of our defenses on the outer stockade and then executed Captain Cularalda in cold blood." The young lieutenant was distraught. "I won't go into the details of the killing, but it was barbaric." Composing himself, he continued, "A contingent of civilians is trapped in the trade hall opposite the town square. If you could assist my men, we could try to rescue the townsfolk, and then arm them for a counterattack."

Kirkley calmly tied his long, ivory hair back into a ponytail. "And what of my ship? She was docked for repairs."

The lieutenant replied, "I sent your crew to hold the eastern bridge, and let me say they are first-rate fighters, Sir."

Kirkley was pleased. "Continue…"

"Regarding your ship, last I saw, she was still afloat. But I'm not sure how long that will last, a fleet of Ra'Gada will make land fall anytime now."

Wyn's eyes narrowed. "The Ra'Gada? Some call them Red Guards."

Ragna frowned. "Wonderful. They're almost as ruthless as the orcs."

Kirkley spoke decisively. "Ragna and Wyn will accompany the lieutenant back to the center of town, while Tealeaf and I head to the lighthouse. Maybe we can figure out a way to prevent those ships from reaching shore."

Pouting, Aiz'lee climbed down from Blood Meridian, and stomped the ground. "And what about me? I'm not going to stay here and do absolutely zilch!"

Lieutenant Dorner gave Aiz'lee the once-over. "Miss, you look to be a sorcerer, is that a fair guess?"

Aiz'lee nodded. "You bet your buttocks, boy!" Then with a sigh of resignation she said, "And a damn fine one too, even if I am as blind as a bat."

Lieutenant Dorner smiled. "Bless you." Then he turned to Kirkley. "You should take her with you, Captain. The town's mage said she was also headed to the lighthouse. I'm not sure what's up her sleeves, but she could probably use some help. The mage's name is Rihannsu, but everyone calls her, Master."

Aiz'lee's face lit up. "I know her well! She's a high ranking officer in the Mage's Guild, and on top of that, a cousin of the Queen."

Kirkley's face stiffened. "Very well. Aiz'lee will come with us."

* * *

Using a nearby barn for cover, Kirkley, Aiz'lee and Tealeaf scanned the bridge that led to the neighboring islands. The tide was unusually high and the water swift, making the bridge the safest mode of travel. In the distance, they could see the _Foul Weather Friend_ , still moored, and looking almost radiant in a fresh coat of navy blue paint. Kirkley sighed, then said, "Ahh, my mistress of the sea. We're on our way…" Kirkley pulled out his telescope for a closer examination of the area. There were several corpses sprawled across the bridge, but other than that, it was deserted and deadly quiet.

"With Chief Ulukhaz focused on taking the bridge into town, it appears they left their flank exposed," Kirkley whispered.

Tealeaf's face turned sour. "Nobody told me there'd be bridges." She glumly handed the reins of Blood Meridian over to Kirkley. "Here, you'll have to lead Rag's horse across. I'll meet you all on the other side."

Kirkley was confused. "What are you talking about?"

Aiz'lee grabbed Kirkley by the elbow. "Just let her go Kirk! She's being serious; she has a thing with bridges."

Kirkley raised his eyebrows. "Fine."

Tealeaf started unloading any extra gear she didn't need. "I'll meet you at the lighthouse."

With Aiz'lee in the saddle, Kirkley led Blood Meridian across the bridge that led to the docks. Even though there seemed to be no one in the area, he was still concerned they might be spotted from a distance. The bridge didn't provide cover of any sort, and there wasn't much in the way of foliage or buildings to hide them either. _The sooner we can get across, the better_ , he thought.

Suddenly, Aiz'lee sat straight up in her saddle, almost spooking Blood Meridian beneath her. "Fantabulous! Why it's…miraculous!" she yelled.

Kirkley nearly suffered a coronary right there in the middle of the bridge. "Why not beat a drum while you're at it?!" he said, half panic stricken.

Aiz'lee took several deep breaths and tried to calm down. "So sorry, Kirk. But my vision is returning, praise Stendarr. Things are still fuzzy off in the distance, but I can see you!" she said, as tears started to trickle down her face.

"That's great news, but please…your sight won't matter, if we're both dead," he cracked.

Aiz'lee jumped down from her saddle, gave Kirkley a big hug, and then they hurried across the bridge together. The island was so small, it only took them a few minutes to reach the two warehouses located in the center. As luck would have it, a large trebuchet was stored inside of one of the warehouses. In front of the other warehouse, stood a slender woman dressed in an unbleached linen skirt with a shirt, casually tied above her midriff. She was stacking firewood into an octagon shaped pyre.

Aiz'lee ran towards the woman, waving her arms. "That's Master! Hail, Sister!" Kirkley watched as the two females hugged. Upon closer inspection, he could see that Master was barefoot and wore a white orchid in her sandy colored hair. He reached out to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you," he said. "You look like you're ready for a lazy day in the hammock rather than the hardships of the battlefield."

Master shook Kirkley's hand and spoke in a quick staccato. "Yes, Captain. A hammock on the beach is my preferred destination." She then returned to the task of preparing her bonfire. "Nevertheless, this plane of existence requires us all to make compromises. Time is only an artificial contrivance, and yet it can sometimes be of the essence…a true dichotomy."

Kirkley just shrugged.

So, Master continued. "Your arrival here is no coincidence, but a result of my connection with the unity consciousness."

Kirkley looked confused. "Okay?"

Master smiled. "I had planned to build this ice-furnace by the lighthouse, but there's more wood over here."

Kirkley was eager to get moving. "Ice furnace, huh? So…what's your plan?"

Master stepped back from the pyre, making sure its pattern was perfect. "Aiz'lee and I are going to tap into the atmosphere's bio-rhythmic fluctuations. Originally, I'd hoped to use my bow to trigger the precipitation, but the odds of that working, would have been minuscule."

Aiz'lee jumped up and down. "I brought my lightning staff!"

Master's eyes twinkled. "Yes, of course you did."

Still not exactly sure what the two females were planning, Kirkley waved them good-bye. "I'll leave you to it, then, and head to the lighthouse."

Kirkley hitched the trebuchet up to Blood Meridian, and starting pulling the siege engine towards the long pier that led to the lighthouse.

The orcs were not complete dummies as Ragna had claimed, and had left five soldiers by the lighthouse to help insure clear passage for the Red Guard navy. Tealeaf was the first to arrive on the scene and under normal circumstances; she would have transformed herself into a werewolf and easily dispatched of the orc soldiers. But the tides were much stronger than she had imagined, and she was too tired to change form, so she had to fight them the old fashioned way, with bow and sword. She was still dueling with the last soldier when Kirkley finally arrived, towing the trebuchet behind him.

Kirkley shouted, "Sorry I'm late! Need some help over there?"

In the middle of a long and heated parry, Tealeaf needed to conserve her breath, so she only nodded.

Kirkley grabbed his shield off Blood's saddle, and sprinted headlong into the already wounded orc, which knocked the brute unconscious. Then he swung his sword across the fallen adversary's neck, slicing the carotid artery. Dark blood sprayed the ground. "Whew! That was…invigorating," he said.

With her hands on her knees, Tealeaf sucked in as much air as her lungs would allow before finally speaking. "One - - is easy, try - - five."

Kirkley and Tealeaf wasted no time getting the trebuchet into position. The Red Guard ships were fast approaching the harbor's entrance, and were less than a hundred yards away. "It doesn't look like they've spotted us yet, but after this first shot, that's another story." Kirkley estimated the cruising speed of the vessels and their distance before releasing the trebuchet's first payload. A large, burning bundle of rotten meat arced through the sky before crashing into the main mast of the lead ship. The sails burst into flame and shouts could be heard, followed by tolling bells. Kirkley and Tealeaf barely got off a second shot, which set the hull a blaze, before the lead ship began returning fire of their own. The sailors used two on-deck ballista to send canisters of fist-sized rock careening towards Kirkley and Tealeaf.

As soon as Kirkley dove for cover, he saw a bright, jagged bolt of lightning run straight up into the eastern sky, it was so powerful, it made the earth shake.

Tealeaf peered up from behind the trebuchet. "That sounded like Aiz'lee."

A few seconds later, a light, misting rain began to fall. Then they both noticed a flocculent, milky colored smoke coming from the island where Master and Aiz'lee were working.

Kirkley began loading the trebuchet with another load. "Yup, that's Aiz'lee and Master working their magic. Come on, let's get another round off before the sailors reload."

But another shot wouldn't be necessary. The smoke from Master's ice-furnace was filled with tiny ice crystals, and as soon as it drifted out over the warm water of the bay, it turned into a dense fog, as thick as goreapple porridge. Visibility was reduced to just a few feet. Tealeaf and Kirkley could barely see each other, much less the approaching ships. But the sounds of wood smashing against rocks, and sailors screaming was all they needed to know.

* * *

By the time Lieutenant Dorner, Wyn, Ragna and the Dead-Lad's Dog snuck through enemy lines to reach the center of town, the situation had deteriorated. On the west side of town, the orc's second in command, the pot-bellied Colonel Yadba was setting up a battering ram to break into the trade hall which was providing refuge for many of the town's citizens. Luckily, Lieutenant Dorner had already ordered the militia to form a barricade east of there, around the town square. That forced the orcs to fight on two fronts and prevented Chief Ulukhaz's forces from crossing the bridge into the square. Ragna estimated there were only two platoons of town militia. In other words, they were outnumbered four to one. And the ground was littered with the bodies of dead and mutilated civilians to prove it.

Without a single thought for her own safety, Wyn headed to the east side of the square where twenty of Kirkley's crew members were holding down the bridge. Without reinforcements, Wyn knew it would only be a matter of time before these sailors succumbed to the endless wave of orcs.

The sailors had formed a wedge on the bridge, and it allowed Wyn to position herself very close behind them, in the center. She slipped the leather cover off her restoration staff and closed her eyes, trying to tune out the clanking sounds of iron striking iron and the sudden wails of the injured. An arrow whizzed by her, yet she remained still and resolute. She whispered her combat prayer. _Breath of life, fill us. Breath of life, heal us._ She opened her eyes as thin, transparent bands of energy flowed up, and out of her body, accompanied by a great rush of wind. For a split second, she felt overwhelmingly weak. Then she slammed her staff to the ground, sending white and gold rays of light, out into the town's defenders. Almost instantly, the men were re-energized and emboldened. Shouts of courage rose up through the ranks, as she repeated this process, over and over.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the town square, Ragna and Lieutenant Dorner watched from behind the safety of the barricade as the orcs laid siege to the town hall.

"Shadows lie, people die, don't you ever wonder why?"

The hair on the back of Ragna's neck stood straight up. He looked around for the praying mantis, and then remembered that he had left it inside his saddlebags. He bent down to pet the Dead-Lad's Dog and chuckled, "I must be crazy."  
Lieutenant Dorner looked perplexed. "What was that?"

Ragna shrugged. "Nothing, just talking to the dog" he said. He turned his attention back to the other side of the road, where the orcs had built their own hastily erected barricade, about a hundred feet away. "No way we can make an assault on them now, Lieutenant, not with their superior numbers and nowhere for us to take cover."

The lieutenant's face darkened. "Yes. A real no-man's land between them and us. But I'll be damned if we just sit here and watch them burn the place to the ground."

Ragna pointed to a medium-sized trebuchet stationed off on a side street. The siege engine was engulfed in flames. But Lieutenant Dorner spoke before Ragna could even open his mouth. "I know what you're thinking, Sir. But we have no water to put that fire out with. The town's well is on the orc's side of the street and there's too much fighting by the river."

Ragna scratched his chin. "Is the siege engine's wind-up made of rope or chain? I can't tell from here."

"Chain. But that treb's been burning for close to half an hour."

Ragna continued, "They use nightwood on those trebs, so they can last a long time, Son. I've seen 'em burn for hours."

From across the road, Colonel Yadba bellowed, "Bring out the prisoners!" And the orcs led three militia fighters, all in shackles, up onto a makeshift platform of crates, where all could see them. The prisoners were more boys than men, being between fifteen and twenty years old.

Ragna took a deep breath. "Dark shades, here we go. The bastard's going to try and bait us out into the open."

Lieutenant Dorner yelled to his men, "Hold your positions, Men. No matter what. That's an order!"

Colonel Yadba continued. "I've never faced such a spineless group of fighters before. Why, our orc children are more battle hardened than this group of whelps." Then he grinned. "Let the purification begin!"

With that, the orcs ripped the eyelids off each of their prisoners, so that they couldn't close their eyes. The colonel laughed. "Look at them…making tears like weak, whinny females!"

Ragna gritted his teeth. _If there ever was a good time to cry, it would be now_. But no tears flowed from Ragna. He didn't even feel the urge. Instead, his anger grew hot, like the great earth forge itself.

The orcs then forced two of the prisoners to watch as they decapitated the third one and drove his head onto a lance. The process was repeated until all three had been beheaded. The colonel patted his belly with glee. "Come, there must be one amongst you with enough guts to avenge your comrades?!"

Again, Lieutenant Dorner urged his troops to remain in position, but several men left the protection of the barricade anyway, and charged towards the orc line, only to die under a barrage of orc arrows.

What came next, was even worse.

The orcs paraded an old woman up onto their platform, stripped, beat and gang raped her in full view of anyone who cared to watch. Afterwards, the colonel lifted up what was left of the old woman and said, "Disgusting! Surely your young ones will be sturdier? It takes many, endless hours of fornication to satisfy my army!"

For a second, Ragna thought about how his parents had died at the hands of the orcs. He was just an infant when the Greybeards found him, so he had to rely on their eyewitness accounts. He imagined it was pretty close to what was happening here in Velyn Harbor. "That's why I hate 'em," he said, to nobody in particular.

The Lieutenant looked up and down his line, worried more men might succumb to the colonel's taunts. But his men remained behind the barricade, looking sick, dejected, and beaten. Then, several of the men pointed to the middle of the street. None of them could quite believe what they were seeing.

With flames spreading up his arms and back, Ragna was pushing the fiery trebuchet out into the open street. The Dead-Lad's Dog howling beside him.

"Shit!" the Lieutenant exclaimed. "Archers, commence suppression fire!" The Lieutenant grabbed two of the largest shields he could find and sprinted into the street as his archers released a wave of arrows into the orc line.

Lieutenant Dorner reached Ragna just in time to block the barrage of orc arrows. But even with the protection of the large shields, the Dead-Lad's Dog took several arrows to its vitals. With the fire now covering Ragna from the waist up, he screamed, the pain almost driving him berserk. But it didn't matter, because the trebuchet was in perfect position.

For Ragna, the next few seconds seemed to turn into a blur of slow motion, and the sounds of the battlefield began to fade away. The last thing he could make out was Lieutenant Dorner hitting the engine's trigger and the trebuchet's payload exploding into the orc line, right on top of Colonel Yadba.

Ragna collapsed on top of the dead Dead-Lad's Dog, the skin on his face and arms literally melting away. The Lieutenant swore that in spite of all that, Ragna died with a smile on his face.

* * *

[i] See Outlook mail without a subject…


	12. Requiem At Sea

From the stern of the _Foul Weather Friend_ , Wyn watched the sun peek up and out of the glassy ocean. This had always been her favorite part of the day, maybe it was because of her last name, Dawnrider, or maybe it was because she always liked new beginnings. The ocean was placid and the sky, crystal clear. _It's going to be a beautiful day, at least weather wise,_ she told herself. She looked very different from when she was in Velyn Harbor. Her long auburn hair, now had a jagged streak of silver in the middle of it, about as thick as a finger, and her face had aged some, with wrinkles around her lustrous, green eyes.

She recalled the events of Velyn Harbor, and her emotions ran the gamut. On one hand, she was pleased. The stories of the dashing Lieutenant Dorner and his men repelling the invading orcs were already spreading throughout Tamriel, and rightly so. As soon as the orc army lost Colonel Yadba, they fell into disarray, prompting the lieutenant to lead his men straight into the teeth of the orc line. Seizing the moment, the harbor defenders were able to force the orcs into a hasty retreat. It was the stuff of legend.

But Wyn's happiness was also tempered by witnessing so much destruction, and she was tired of it. Her father always told her that there were only two types of creatures in the world, builders and breakers, and he was right. Experience showed her that creating something of value often required years of hard work, while destroying it usually took only a few hours. No wonder there seemed to be more breakers than builders out there. It just wasn't fair. But she knew one thing for certain…she was a builder, a mender, a healer. If she couldn't make the world even a little bit better, than what was the point of living at all?

In Velyn Harbor, Wyn was the first person to reach Ragna, or what was left of him, and he was a hideous sight. She had to bite her tongue to keep from heaving. Two-thirds of the flesh on his face, shoulders and arms was burned, and in a few spots, his flesh had melted right down to the bone. Everyone agreed that the man was dead, he had stopped breathing and had no pulse. But Wyn refused to accept such facts; she could be stubborn when she wanted to. For the next fifteen minutes, she stood over Ragna's corpse and performed the ultimate skill of the healer known as "Rite of Passage." Standing with her head bowed and hands clasped together, a multitude of threadlike streams of light emanated from her body. She looked like a firecracker on Heart's Day. There were only a few healers in Tamriel who even knew how to perform this most ancient of skills, and when done properly, it would channel the very will of the gods.

Maybe someone, somewhere, liked Ragna after all, for not long after Wyn finished the ritual, his heart started beating again. But like most good things in life, such a heal came with a price. Wyn would age almost ten years overnight. And the chances of her ever performing such a resurrection again, would be small at best.

For the next several days, Ragna would require twenty-four-hour a day care. Thankfully, once his vitals stabilized, Master agreed to accompany the group on their boat ride, so that she and Wyn could continue caring for him in shifts.

Wyn turned her attention back to the ocean, where a pod of dolphins, she counted four of them, were playing in the ship's wake. She smiled. _There will be no requiem for Ragna. Not yet, anyway.  
_  
Dressed in an immaculate navy and gold captain's uniform, Kirkley approached Wyn. "Good morning. You're an early riser." He sniffed the salt air like a wolfhound.

Wyn nodded. "It's the best time to meditate."

Kirkley replied. "Ahh…I hope I'm not interrupting, then?"

"Oh no. I just finished."

Kirkley offered her a mug filled with pink, steaming liquid. "Very good. How about a cup of tea?"

Wyn grabbed the mug with both hands and took in the aroma. "Pink Profundity, one of my favorites. Thank you, kind Sir."

Kirkley motioned to a crewmember who was repairing a length of rope. "Sailor. Tell the boatswain to meet me on the quarterdeck, pronto."  
The sailor saluted, and then departed.

Kirkley studied Wyn's face for a moment. "I'm worried, Wyn. It's been five days, and Ragna still hasn't regained consciousness."

Wyn took a long, deliberate sip of her tea before replying. "I wouldn't worry about that just yet. It's not unusual for someone with severe wounds to fall into a catatonic state. I believe it actually promotes the healing process. Plus, he's already shown signs of waking up. His eyes open for brief periods and there's been movement in his hands and toes."

Kirkley looked relieved. "I certainly hope you're right. Is there any way to tell if he's suffered any damage to his brain? I pray we haven't resurrected a monster."

Wyn pressed her mouth into a frown. "No way of telling. However, there's no doubt about one thing…he's going to look like a monster, let's just hope he doesn't act like one."

"Poor chap. There's nothing that can be done about his appearance?"

Wyn suddenly felt depressed. "No, I'm afraid not. I'm a healer, not a miracle worker."

Kirkley twirled one end of his mustache. "Well, I was thinking…I have the pelt and head of a great snow bear in my chambers, a trophy from one of my hunting trips. Maybe that could be fashioned into a mask of sorts. Do you think he would wear it?"

Wyn shrugged, "I don't know." She turned her attention back to the ocean, but the dolphins were no longer there.

* * *

The young orc was in his mid-twenties, and stood eight feet tall, which even by orc standards, was huge. Thick and powerful muscles covered his towering frame. His head and face were clean-shaven, giving him a chiseled, martial look. Typical for his race, his chin jut out like a spear, and his large nose was wide and flat with flared nostrils. He wore a simple deerskin tunic with sandals, but extravagant, gem-encrusted jewelry dangled from his neck, ears and nose. He leaned his huge hand against the grimy stonewall of the prison cell, and watched as the Dungeon Master of High Rock, nicknamed, "The Artful Carver," worked.

The Artful Carver was also an orc, but unlike the one who was watching him, he was old, thin and on the smallish side for an orc. But like all great artists, The Artful Carver was passionate when it came to his work, and his focus was razor sharp. He took a step back from his latest victim, so he could better reflect on his masterpiece. This particular victim happened to be a middle-aged, high elf female with short brown hair. She was bound face down to a wooden post, naked from the waist up, and limp as a rag. Apparently, she had passed-out due to the extreme pain and duress she was under. However, The Artful Carver checked her pulse to make sure she was still alive. "Gah! No die, ye skinny whore!" he growled. Across her back, he had used a woodworker's chisel to gouge out the outline of a bloody butterfly. In the middle of the insect, the words: "Witch SERANO: Enemy to the Orcish Horde," were burned into her flesh with a hot iron. The dungeon master turned to the young orc, looking for a sign of approval, but none came, so the old orc gathered up his courage, and said, "What say ye, Sire? Me…me think's to cut deeper, zug-zug?"

Growing impatient, the young orc bellowed, "Kagh! By yer puny head, yes! But be sure you revive the useless flower before you continue!" He grabbed the dungeon master by the throat, and easily lifted him high into the air. "What good is suffering, if not fully felt?" The young orc dropped the old one back to the ground.

The Artful Carver bowed as he gasped for air. "Aye, King Kurog! Dabu! Dabu…" The old orc grabbed a wooden bucket, and quickly doused Mage Serano with cold water several times, until she finally woke up.

* * *

From a tall keep perched in the mountains of High Rock, King Kurog starred out the window of his private chambers down into the dark valley that stretched out before him. Even though it was well past midnight, the moon provided enough illumination for him to catch a glimpse of several harpies sailing above the treetops below. The squeals and cackles of these half-woman, half-avian creatures echoed against the distant rock face. He enjoyed listening to the sounds of all the strange beasts that lived in his wilderness, but tonight his mind was troubled and distracted. His prize prisoner, the great mage, Gadsi Serano was not cooperating in the least. She had not divulged any information about the Dominion's new encryption method, and the dungeon master had already tortured her to within an inch of her life. _Could the mage be using a potion to dull her senses?_ _Nonsense, The Artful Carver always made sure to "sweat out" anything his victims may have ingested long before starting the torture process_.

King Kurog decided it was time to speak with Elontra. He crossed to the other side of his chambers, reached into a jar filled with murky liquid, and pulled out a gargoyle tongue, ashen grey and rubbery. He played with the tongue for a moment, then tossed it into a burning brazier in the middle of the room. It wasn't long before the tongue turned the yellow flames of the fire into a deep purple. The King blew into the fire and whispered, "Elontra, dark-ishi rider!"

Nearly two hundred miles away in a bordello in the thieves' district of Hew's Bane, Elontra rolled over onto her back. Even though she was half-asleep it was easy to tell she looked very much like her sister Elonwyn, albeit a much leaner, and less voluptuous version of her twin. The only other major differences were that her hair was black, cut very short and odd looking tattoos covered both of her arms. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the black ink on her arms formed a spiral chain of fractal curves, planets and triangles, all linked together by hundreds of words inscribed in tiny letters of the Daedric alphabet.

Elontra lay in her massive-sized bed, completely in the nude and without any sheets or covers over her. All around her were other nude, intertwined bodies, in various states of sleep. Exactly how large her bed was, or how many bedmates she had was hard to tell. The only common denominator among them was that they were all young. There were males, females, Bretons, Nords, even elves of several varieties; it made no difference to her. She was an equal opportunity lover. Scented candles lined three sides of the bed, (after all, what good was sex, if you couldn't see what you were doing)? And a set of trapeze bars, belts and other strange contraptions hung down from the ceiling. The remnants of dried skooma burned in a bowl, filling the room with a faint, orange haze.

Elontra, dark-ishi rider!

Elontra lifted her head off her satin pillow and glanced over at her destruction staff which was propped up in one corner of her boudoir. The large crytal orb on the end of the staff glowed with a brilliant, purple light. "Bright moons! Really? At this hour?" she whined. She crawled over several of her bedfellows, grabbed the staff and stumbled into an adjacent room.

She looked into the crystal and could see a blurry image of King Kurog's face. She splashed rose water from a basin on her face and let it run down her naked body, all the way to her crimson toenails. Then she whispered into the crystal orb, "Hail, and Aka'Magosh to the one they call the Big Bear. By chance, this couldn't wait til day break?"

King Kurog grunted. "Time waits for none, even Kings."

"Zug-zug." Elontra replied. Then she gently twisted one of the gold rings that pierced her nipples. "Too bad you can only hear me, you might like what you see..." she flirted.

"Enough with the foolishness," King Kurog snapped. "I need you here, now. The mage is proving hard to break, harder than expected. I underestimated the strength of the flower bloods. It's time we resort to your mind-games."

Elontra smiled. "Ah, it will be my pleasure to do so, your Highness. But, first I must take care of some unfinished business here. You will be happy to learn…that as I promised, your old friend, the traitorous Haygar Little Feet has made his way here, to my humble abode.

For the first time, King Kurog smiled. "By my axe! Why have you not spoken of this sooner?"

"It was only yesterday that he arrived. And I wanted to make sure everything was in place before we spoke, O' wise one." She snickered. "Little Feet's grown a beard and taken to wearing a floppy hat since you've last seen him…a pathetic attempt to disguise himself!"

King Kurog couldn't help but laugh. "Kek! What a pathetic sight he must be."

Elontra continued, "I told you my powers of persuasion were strong, did I not? He arrived here looking like a long, lost puppy. Even now, he's downstairs in one of my guest rooms, enjoying the company of one of my girls. And have no fear, he will be under constant surveillance. By the way, my girls tell me that having small feet is not his only problem."

King Kurog laughed again. "Some claim his mother was a reptile!" Then his face turned deadly serious. "Bring me his head in a bucket of pickled slime. His body, do as you please with!"

"Ah, you are too kind. Delivering his head to you, will be my honor. But be patient, young King. For my news, gets even better. Soon we will be able to slay two enemies with one stone."

King Kurog was getting impatient. "Go on…"

"Last night Little Feet sent word to the Dominion by carrier bird, letting them know of his whereabouts. That message, I believe will be delivered to my own, dear sister, Wyn."

King Kurog's eyes grew large. "What!?"

"Yes, she has come out of hiding. She was stupid enough to perform the ancient Rite of Passage during the Velyn Harbor battle. Why, I could sense her vibrations all the way from here! And even better, she will not be back to her full strength for several weeks yet."

King Kurog pounded his fists together, waking his pet bear cubs that were sleeping in one corner of his room. "Bowels of the giant! This is good news, but don't delay. Little Feet knows much about my security here at old Orsinium and those secrets must die with him."

Elontra smirked. "And so it shall be, your Highness."


	13. Blue Is The New Black

When Ragna was carried onto the _Foul Weather Friend_ , he was taken to the ship's infirmary. Kirkley then moved his junior officers into his own quarters so that Wyn, Tealeaf, Aiz'lee and Master could stay together in one of the ship's larger cabins. Even so, the females were surprised at how cramped their room was. It included two bunkbeds, one small closet, a trunk that doubled as a table and a private latrine, all squeezed into an eight by ten space.

By the second night of their ocean voyage, the females were starting to feel a little more at home. Getting ready for bed, Wyn moved the cabin's lantern closer to Aiz'lee, who was sitting on one of the lower bunks. The high elf was in deep concentration, painting her toenails. Without looking up, Aiz'lee said, "Thanks," and wiggled her toes. "What do you think?"

Wyn sat down beside Aiz'lee for a closer look. Aiz'lee's big toenails were painted a deep, cobalt blue, and each succeeding toenail was a lighter shade of blue until you got to her pinky toes, which were a baby blue. Wyn nodded. "I like it. Did you notice that the Queen's Royal Wardrobe Mistress had her toes painted like that at the masquerade party?"

A sheepish grin spread across Aiz'lee's face as she nodded.

Wyn continued, "Very stylish. I think blue is going to be ' _The_ ' color this coming fall."

Laying in one of the top bunks, Tealeaf sat up. "For the love of trees, would you two hush, it's well past midnight. And such nonsense! I can't even remember the last time I colored my toes…it must have been when I was still a wee, sapling."

Nonpulsed, Wyn got up, and moved into her own bunk. "As a matter of fact, I'm going to use a similar color scheme on my new healer's robe. It's going to be sleeveless, incorporate winged shoulder guards, and an armored corset for protection; sophisticated, and yet practical for the battlefield. I'm thinking style wise, something along the lines of a Bosmer motif."  
Aiz'lee's eyes flashed. "Fantabulous! I can't wait to see it."

Tealeaf sighed. "So much for peace and quiet." Then she started rubbing her eyes. "I don't know if it's all this salt air, or what…" She looked at one of her hands. "But everything close-up, appears blurry."

Aiz'lee shrugged. "Maybe you need reading glasses?"

Tealeaf gasped, "Shore's bones!" and kicked the ceiling. "As sure as a tree has roots, I hope not."

Next, someone knocked on the cabin door: Tap, tap, and Wyn replied, "Yes, who is it?"

A muffled voice on the other side spoke. "Rochbain of the night watch reporting, Miss Dawnrider. A messenger bird has arrived topside, however it will not allow any of us to handle it, and-"

Wyn cut the sailor off. "Say no more, good Sir. The bird will only cooperate with the owner of the homing device. I will meet you on deck shortly." She grabbed a small, turquoise-colored conch shell that dangled from a cord on her bedpost, and headed towards the door.

* * *

In the captain's private office, Wyn, Tealeaf, and Aiz'lee huddled around a large desk. No one else was in the room. Tealeaf made a sour face as she finished reading what looked like a hastily scribbled note on a scrap of paper. Then she handed it over to Wyn and said, "This whole thing smells fishy to me." She elbowed Aiz'lee, hoping her friend would concur, but the high elf remained silent. Once Kirkley entered the room, the trio turned their attention to the captain as he unrolled a nautical map and started calculating a new route using a two-pronged divider and wooden protractor.

Antsy, Tealeaf continued. "This Little Foot fellow originally wanted to meet us on the island of Stros M'kai, and now all of sudden he changes the meeting place?"  
Not saying a word, Wyn closed her eyes and moved her fingers across the face of the note.

Tealeaf felt compelled to continue. "I mean, now we're going to meet him in Abah's Landing in Hew's Bane? Abah's Landing, for crying out loud! That's in Daggerfall Covenant territory, not to mention smack-dab in the middle of the Thieves Guild!"

Wyn opened her eyes. "I know, Sister. This troubles me as well."

Tealeaf rolled her eyes in desperation. "Don't you think your sister might have something to do with this?"

Wyn shook her head. "No. I don't detect any such vibrations from the document Haygar sent us. And by the way, his name is Little Feet, not Little Foot. But even if Elontra is involved, it's a chance we have to take. The information Haygar has will increase our chances of getting into King Kurog's fortress and saving Mage Serano, five-fold. We have to meet with him."

Kirkley laid his instruments on the map and rubbed his forehead. "This will be a dangerous undertaking, to say the least. I can drop you off about a mile from Shark Teeth Grotto, which is southwest of Alba's Landing. I dare not sail in any closer than that. You'll have to use a small dingy to get ashore. While you're in Abah's Landing, we'll sail to Stros M'kai and wait for you there. That's if the Daggerfall Navy or pirates don't catch sight of us first."

Wyn took a deep breath. "That will have to do, then. I believe Ragna is well enough so that Master can care for him on her own." She handed her turquoise-colored conch shell to Kirkley. "Keep this homing device handy at all times. I'll take the one Haygar has when we meet with him. It will enable us to coordinate a time and place to rendezvous."

Aiz'lee said, "So, it will just be the three of us going ashore?"

Wyn replied, "Yes. I recommend we disguise ourselves as street people, so we can move about freely in Alba's Landing without arousing suspicions."

Tealeaf smiled, "Beggars, in other words." Then she nudged Aiz'lee. "You'll have to get rid of your pretty nail polish, Kid."

Aiz'lee looked over at Wyn, hoping she would contradict Tealeaf, but Wyn nodded, "I'm afraid so. We'll have to dirty ourselves up a bit."

Angry, Aiz'lee stood up, almost knocking her head against the ceiling. "Sure! That won't be any trouble for you Tea, you're already a…filthy…smelly mess!"

Kirkley cleared his throat. "Now, now ladies. I think it's time everyone went back to bed and got some rest."

* * *

The morning sun reflected off the choppy water making the ocean look as if it had been dusted with sparkling jewels. Wyn sat in the stern of a small dingy and watched as Tealeaf and Aiz'lee rowed the vessel towards a distant shore. All three females were without make-up, barefoot, and wore simple linen clothing. Because there was a bounty on Wyn, she also wore dark-colored spectacles and a shawl over her head. To disguise their weapons, Tealeaf's sword was concealed in a burlap sack, and Wyn and Aiz'lee's staffs were wrapped in rags to make them look like ordinary walking sticks.

From the water's depths emerged a school of sharks, their black triangular fins cutting across the water's surface. Dismayed, Wyn motioned towards the ominous looking creatures, and started counting fins. "Oh my goodness, there's thirteen of them!"

In between rows, Tealeaf replied, "Remember, Kirkley said those Bullheads won't attack the boat." Then she laughed. "Just don't put your hands in the water!"

Wyn forced out a nervous laugh. "Believe me, hands in the water never entered my mind!" Then she shielded her eyes from the sun's glare and scanned the shoreline, which was still about a hundred yards away. The coast was sandy, and otherwise desolate except for a few scattered boulders, a cluster of palm trees, and a rotting, dilapidated dock.

Growing tired, Aiz'lee stopped rowing and rolled her shoulders around to stretch out her aching muscles. Wyn said, "I'm sorry I can't help with the rowing, but with only one good arm, I'm afraid I wouldn't be very effective." She leaned over and started massaging Aiz'lee's shoulder with her right hand.

Aiz'lee cooed. "Oh…that feels good! Thanks Wyn, and don't worry, we're almost there."

Meanwhile, Tealeaf moved one of her hands over to Aiz'lee's abandoned oar and continued rowing, although now that she had only one hand on each oar, she couldn't row as fast or as strong. "That's right, Sister. We've got you covered."

Wyn smiled, and then twisted her body around to look behind her. The _Foul Weather Friend_ was now just a tiny blurb on the horizon. "Safe journey Kirkley…hope to see you again, real soon," she said.


	14. The Lame Of Hew's Bane

A delicate pecking sound could be heard outside Haygar Little Feet's window. Haygar wiped the sleep from his swollen eyes and extracted himself from the grip of his bedmate, a piggish-looking orc female with large breasts. The woman was in a deep sleep and hogging both pillows. Haygar's face turned dark green, as only an Orc's could. _You loose-legged, tight-fisted whore!_

Peck – peck – peck.

Haygar snarled as he made his way to the window. Outside he could see a pigeon perched on the window sill… _A message!_ Suddenly excited over this discovery, he tiptoed over to his backpack at the foot of the bed, pulled out his conch shell homing device, and returned to the window. After making sure his partner was still asleep, he opened the window, removed the tiny cylinder attached to the bird's leg, and then shooed the bird away.

With note in hand, Haygar stepped into an adjoining washroom and closed the door. He placed the note on a nearby table and promptly lit a candle for illumination. That's when he noticed the lady bug crawling across his piece of paper. Unfortunately, the light in the room was too dim for him to see that this wasn't your typical lady bug. Its spots were blue instead of black and its antennas where twice as long as a normal lady bug. He brushed the insect off the paper and proceeded to read the message:

 **"Haygar - Meet us at the statute of Prince Hew on the first night of the crescent moon. From there you will be taken to a safe location where we can talk. After that, you will remain in protective custody of the Dominion. Elonwyn Dawnrider."**

Haygar's face softened. This was the reply he had been hoping for. He held the paper over the flame of the candle until there was nothing left, except for a pile of ash. Then, grinning like the cat that just ate the mouse, Haygar lay back down in his bed. He paid no attention to the strange lady bug as it flew out his open window. Instead, he focused on sucking the plump, purple nipples of his bedmate.

Two floors above Haygar's room, sat Wyn's dark-haired sister, Elontra. Still in the nude, she picked at her breakfast of pomegranate, beetle cheese and sweet slaughterfish tea. She smiled as she let the juice of the pomegranate drip down her chest. _I can't wait to serve breakfast to the others,_ she thought _._ Across from her stood an alchemy table loaded with beakers, flasks, graduated cylinders, and oil burners, all connected together by a coiled, copper hose. Some of the solutions were actively bubbling while others were slowly percolating.

As soon as the odd-looking lady bug flew into her room, Elontra rose to greet it. She watched with anticipation as the insect landed on the palm of her hand and started crawling up her forearm. The bug followed the spiral pattern of her tattoo as it worked its way up to her bicep. Once the insect reached her shoulder, the ink on Elontra's tattoo glowed a vibrant blue for a few seconds. She closed her eyes and smiled. "Ahh…you've already arranged a meeting with Haygar" she whispered. She crossed to the alchemy table and picked up a vial that contained a clear, bubbling liquid, and held it up for inspection. "Welcome to Hew's Bane, dear Sister. I promise it will be a visit you will never forget."

* * *

Reaching landfall at Shark Tooth Grotto, Wyn, Tealeaf and Aiz'lee, hid their dingy underneath the dilapidated dock, and then set out for Abah's Landing. As Kirkley had warned them, the barren landscape of Hew's Bane would be inhospitable at best. Scorching heat and seasonal flooding left the soil hard as a rock and unsuitable for most vegetation. And traveling along the five mile footpath known as Bahraha's Trail, they would need to conserve their water rations, since most of the local stream beds would be dry or brackish.

Barely a quarter of a mile into their trek, the trio came upon a fifteen-foot sailboat that had been washed inland during the last flood. It was missing its main sailcloth, and there was a hole in its hull, about a foot wide. The females decided it was worth the time and energy to move the boat somewhere more inconspicuous, with the hopes of coming back later and fixing it up. If they could repair it, it would make the rendezvous with Kirkley a lot easier.

Tealeaf chopped down four of the largest palm trees in the area, and using the trunks for wheels, they rolled the boat down behind a series of large boulders, about a hundred feet from the trail. By the time they had finished concealing the boat they were exhausted, and half the day was already gone. They decided to go back to Shark Tooth Grotto, and pitch camp there. That way they could start out fresh in the morning.

Spending the night at the grotto turned out to be serendipitous, because when Wyn searched a nearby cove for firewood, she found water hyacinths and blue entoloma growing inside. These plants were necessary reagents for making "Essence of Invisibility" potions, and the females agreed - such a potion would certainly come in handy if they ran into trouble in Abah's Landing. Therefore, Wyn harvested each plant, carefully pressing them into her apothecary's satchel. Aiz'lee reminded Wyn that the third reagent required for such a potion, was Namira's Rot, a rare fungi. They agreed the odds of finding it in Hew's Bane, was extremely slim. But Wyn crossed her fingers anyway. "Stranger things have happened," she said.

It wasn't long before their conversation turned to Abah's Landing. None of them had ever been to the city port by the desert, but Aiz'lee and Wyn had seen many pictures of its sprawling sandstone buildings with red tiled roofs and brightly colored awnings. The city was nestled in a series of multi-tiered cliffs, which required an extensive system of outdoor staircases so one could move about from one level of the city to the next. Most of the buildings were four stories tall with large, arching windows to take advantage of the cool air coming off the water.

The next day, the three females arrived at the high outer wall of Abah's Landing just as the sun was reaching its apex. After three hot and monotonous hours on Bahraha's Trail, they looked every bit like real street people: they were sunburned, sweaty and a thick layer of dust was caked over each of them. And as Tealeaf had surmised, they did not find any of the exotic Namira's Rot along the trail. The only living things they had encountered were swarms of fleshflies, two geckos, and an emaciated camel. They were happy to reach civilization again, and even more ecstatic when they saw the public water fountain inside the city gates.

Tealeaf headed straight to the fountain, nudged the livestock out of the way, and plunged in for a quick bath! Seconds later, Aiz'lee jumped in, but by then, the city guards had arrived on the scene.

One of the guards yelled, "You there! Get your ass out!"

"Jump in the fountain again, and it's off to the cell block for the lot of you!" another guard shouted.

A small crowd gathered around the trio, curious to see what was going on. Wyn pulled her shawl down around her face, then helped her friends out of the water and replied, "We're sorry Sirs. Truly, we did not know the rules. We'll be on our way." For a moment, she looked longingly at the cool, refreshing water as it splashed about the fountain. _Shore's bones, that water looks good!_

The three females quickly moved to the other side of the square, far enough away from the fountain to appease the guards. Wyn immediately scolded her friends, "We're supposed to remain undercover, remember?!"

Tealeaf felt a bit guilty for losing her focus. "I know. I'm sorry Wyn. I don't know what I was thinking…actually, I wasn't thinking."

A single tear ran down Wyn's sun-baked face, as she watched her two comrades, squeeze the water from their clothing. She mumbled, "Besides…it's not fair. You two look absolutely refreshed!"

Aiz'lee felt as bad as Tealeaf. "Now I feel…horriful."

Wyn wiped her face and tried to collect herself. "Making up words again, Aiz'lee?" Wyn couldn't help but chuckle at her friend…until she felt a strange feeling course through her body. She clutched her chest and started breathing heavily as a milky film covered her eyes.

Tealeaf and Aiz'lee looked at each other, unsure what was happening.

Aiz'lee whispered, "Are you alright? Wyn? Should we fetch you a cup of water?"

Wyn's breathing returned to normal and her eyes regained their clarity. "No. No, thank you. I had a premonition, that's all. I'm afraid Elontra might be here in the city, after all. I cannot be sure…as I'm weak from our journey, but I don't think we should take any chances. I'm going to try and cloak my presence while I'm here. You'll have to bear with me, as doing so, will slow me down considerably."

Tealeaf's jaw stiffened. "I knew it! Of course, Wyn. Whatever it takes. Just tell us what needs to be done."

* * *

The trio slowly made their way to the northwest part of the city. That was where most of the homeless stayed in a conglomeration of tents and makeshift shacks. They would bed down there for the night and plan the next day's course of action: Aiz'lee volunteered to see if she could learn of Haygar's whereabouts. If she could find out where he was staying, she would look for signs of Elontra and if necessary, pass Haygar information about a different meeting place. Meanwhile, Tealeaf and Wyn would visit the local thieves den in the hopes of finding a merchant on the black market who would sell them some Namira's Rot.

* * *

The old beggar woman with the pockmarked face laughed when Wyn asked her for directions to the thieves den. The woman pointed across the street with her crooked finger. "Right there, Dearie…inside the cistern. Just knock on the blue door." Then the old woman spat like she had a bad taste in her mouth. "Not from around here, hey?"

Tealeaf and Wyn found the door the old woman had mentioned. The roof of the building was dome shaped, and covered with blue tiles. The building didn't appear large enough to house a thieves den, or so Wyn and Tealeaf thought. Nevertheless, Wyn knocked on the door anyway. Then they stood there waiting, trying not to look too out-of-place…but no one came to the door. Losing patience, Tealeaf finally turned the creaky doorknob, and sure enough, it was unlocked! They looked at each other, shrugged, and then stepped into the darkness.

It was a good thing that they didn't take too many steps inside, because there was only a five-foot ledge to stand on. With minimal light coming in from the tiny portholes around the dome, Wyn decided to light a small candle. Tealeaf peered over the edge of where they stood, and discovered that a chain ladder dangled down from the ledge. It would take them down into the bowels of the dark cistern.

Climbing down the ladder, the females descended nearly twenty feet to the bottom of the cistern, or at least they thought it was the bottom. Large iron grates covered the floor, and they could see water gently flowing underneath the grates. Around the perimeter of the room, were several deserted shelters made from tarps. Someone's clothing hung on a rope line. In the middle of the room was a stone staircase that descended another twenty feet into the ground. The musty smell of mold and rat urine floated up from the darkness below. Tealeaf grimaced. "Take a deep breath, we might not get much fresh air for a while." Wyn loosened the scarf around her head and took in some air.

As they reached the room at the bottom of the steps, they paused so their eyes could adjust to the darkness. On one side of the room, the wooden floor was cut away, revealing the cistern's reservoir, which was filled to capacity. The sound of water splashing against the stonewalls reverberated through the air. On the other side of the room, a small torch burned on the wall. There was no other way in or out of the room. It appeared to be a dead-end.

Wyn scratched her head. "Did we miss something?"

Tealeaf pointed to a mouse as it scurried past their feet. "Nope. Unless you count him."

Wyn jolted back for a second, afraid it was a rat. "Tea!" She took several calming breaths. "Mice, I'm not afraid of. They make pleasant pets, actually."

Tealeaf kept her eyes on the mouse as it ran to one corner of the room. "Let's see where he goes," she said. About that time, the mouse disappeared into a tiny crevice at the bottom of one wall. Tealeaf ran to that spot and started pushing the stones. It took a while before she found the right one. But once the right stone was pressed, it triggered a counter-weight mechanism which lifted a section of the wall away to reveal a narrow tunnel, lit with more torches. Tealeaf and Wyn squeezed through the hole and then, hunched over, walked down the alley into the thieves den.

Because they were strangers to the thieves den, a member of the guild's security force followed Wyn and Tealeaf wherever they went. The guard explained that this was for the security of the females as well as for the thieves den. Like any legitimate bazaar, each merchant in the den had their own booth where they peddled their wares and services. Some openly sold stolen goods, others were fences and specialized in laundering stolen items, and still others promoted themselves as "thieves for hire." Wyn and Tealeaf found an amazing variety of items for sale, including original artwork, jewelry, weapons, even narcotics, everything except Namira's Rot!

Dejected, the females started to make their way back out of the underground cistern. Stopping at the top of the stone steps to catch their breath, they were surprised to see several imperials by the tents that were earlier deserted. Some of these people were cooking over a campfire, while others chatted quietly. One of them, a lame man in his thirties, sat on a blanket on the floor, motioning for Wyn and Tealeaf to come closer. His matted, dark brown hair ran down past his shoulders, and his beard was almost as long. Wyn approached the man warily.

"I hear you're looking for Namira's Rot, tell me I'm right?" the man said, in a gruff tone.

Tealeaf gave him the once over. "Yes, that's right. You have some?"

Irritated, he scratched his head. "Damn lice." He flicked one of the tiny insects off his finger. "Naw, I got no Namira Rot. But I can get 'em for you." The man's upper body was well muscled, but his legs were thin, bent and crooked.

Tealeaf replied, "How are you going to do that? It doesn't look like you can walk very well, if at all."

The man laughed, but it sounded more like a grunt. "I manage." Using his arms, he lifted his lower torso onto a piece of wood that had small rollers on it, and started pushing himself around the makeshift camp. "See. I was a sergeant in the Army, till I got myself all busted up." He lifted up one of his legs and then released it, and it fell back to the floor. "I can get you as many mushrooms as you need, but it's gonna cost you…five thousand gold each."

Wyn looked flabbergasted. "Look, first off, we would want to exam the merchandise before we pay you, and secondly…we can only pay a grand per mushroom."

The man folded his arms. "Do I look like I was born in a stable?"

One end of Tealeaf's mouth curled up. "Absolutely."

The man shook his head with disgust. "One thousand coin wouldn't be enough, even if you let me bone both of you, every day for a year!"

Wyn said matter-of-factly, _"_ Alright _._ Fifteen hundred each is as high as we can go."

The man went back to scratching his head. "Sorry, but no can do."

Wyn frowned. "Mister, it would take us days to get that many coins together. And we don't have that kind of time."

Tealeaf grabbed Wyn by the elbow. "Let's go. He's full of it."

But Wyn wouldn't budge. Instead, she bent down and took a closer look at the man's legs. "How long has that one leg been orange like that?"

The man shrugged. "Pretty much…from the day I was wounded."

"You didn't happen to step on anti-calvary caltrops, by any chance?" she said.  
"Look lady, I've had priests, healers, wizards and witches look at my legs, and for what? Little good come of it."

Tealeaf got in the man's face. "Just answer her question dirt bag, before I haul off and slug you one!"

The man growled. "By the great halls of Sovengarde! Yes, it was caltrops! You happy now?"

Wyn pulled a small pouch from her satchel and checked its contents. "What if I can fix your legs, what then?"

In a sarcastic tone, the man replied, "Sure…I'll give you all the Namira's Rot you can carry, for free! How's that sound?"

Wyn placed the leather pouch over the man's leg, and closed her eyes.

The man's face grew more worrisome by the second. "Listen lady, you make this worse, and I swear…" Before the man could finish his sentence, he abruptly nodded off to sleep.

Tealeaf cracked. "You should have shut him up sooner!"

Wyn's hand continued to move up and down the man's leg, until it stopped at his knee. Her hand trembled as a red boil formed on the man's kneecap, growing larger and larger, until it was the size of a finger. Even though he was unconscious, the man started to mumble and moan. Finally the lesion burst, shooting a glob of orange puss out of his skin.

The man woke up screaming. "Oouuch! What in blue blazes did you do, bitch?!" He grabbed his kneecap, pushing Wyn away.

Only now did Wyn realize she was sweating. She grew faint. "Have to sit for a moment." Then she turned to Tealeaf. "See if you can find the columbine ointment in my bag, and apply a dressing, Tea."  
Still angry, the man stared at his legs, stupefied. The orange color was already gone and the burning pain he'd felt for years was fading too. He tried to stand up, but his legs were like rubber.

Wyn said, "I wouldn't try walking, just yet. You'll need to build up the strength in your legs slowly. Unfortunately, the naked eye cannot detect destructive particles on a molecular level. Maybe one day that will change…"

All of a sudden the man started sobbing as if a great, emotional dam had burst. He grabbed Wyn around the ankles and shouted, "I…I'm…Co-Cornealus…of house… Cooperman." He wiped the tears from his eyes. "As…as Stendarr…is my witness, I pledge my life…to you! Slave for life!

Tealeaf rolled her eyes. "Oh, for the love of trees, just get us the mushrooms, would you?"


End file.
